#the amount of times they have been mistaken for the opposite gender by people who do not know fantrolls or homestuck smh lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

softwarmboy · 3 years

Text

1. Selfie

2. What would you name your future kids?

I really like the name Damon! And Grace

3. Do you miss anyone?

Always

4. What are you looking forward to?

My name and gender marker documents going through!!! (Hopefully) my trip to London in the fall!!! My second dose of the vaccine! Seeing my little sister again! New tattoos!!

5. Is there anyone who can always make you smile?

Absolutely, I have a few close friends who can always get me smiling again

6. Is it hard for you to get over someone?

Unfortunately for me, yes, very ;-; Im a very emotional person and feel things very strongly

7. What was your life like last year?

Living on the coast, working construction, and that was about it

8. Have you ever cried because you were so annoyed

Yes 😂😂😂 mostly over math

9. Who did you last see in person

My friend Shannon!!!

10. Are you good at hiding your feelings

Yes and no, if I’m upset/irritated/sad it’ll show on my face whether I want it to or not, BUT I’m pretty good as passing it off as something else if I want. Not a whole lot of people can tell when im doing that, if anyone at all

11. Are you listening to music right now?

Of course!! Im listening to When The Darkness Comes by Colbie Caillat

12. What is something you want right now?

Food 😂😂😂

13. How do you feel right now?

Sore and tired

14. When was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you

Yesterday!! My friend was having a rough day and was kinda snarky with me and gave me a hug and an apology after she calmed down

15. Personality description

Full of dad jokes, puns, sass, caffeine and smart ass replies at all times 😂 very direct/straightforward, and have little to no patience for beating around the bush, in any context

16. Have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t

Oh god yeah, growing up I never told anyone anything, ever

17. Opinion on insecurities

We all have them, if you’re the kinda person who zeroes in on someone else’s, for any reason, I feel sorry for you but also have absolutely no patience or respect for you

18. Do you miss how things were a year ago?

Nooooooooo, I wasn’t very happy. I wasn’t unhappy necessarily but 🤷🏻‍♂️ still no, hard pass

19. Have you ever been to New York

Nope! It’s on my travel list tho

20. What is your favourite song at the moment

At the moment??? The Colbie Caillat song i mentioned above!

21. Age and birthday?

23, and December 16th!

22. Description of crush

No thanks 😂

23. Fear(s)

Oh man, spiders, wasps, escalators (I have no idea why, don’t ask 😂😂) and aggressive men

24. Height

5’9!

25. Role model

As cliche as it is, I mean it when I say my momma

26. Idol(s)

I don’t really??? Have any????

27. Things I hate

Mushrooms and olives 😂 but in all seriousness, people who are rude to retail/customer service employees or servers, people who don’t use turn signals or say please, thank you and excuse me, the sound of styrofoam (it’s a sensory thing for me)

28. I’ll love you if-

You’ll play video games with me or will try them or any books/music I suggest, notice the little things about me

29. Favourite film(s)

The Mortal Instruments!!!!

30. Favourite tv show(s)

Gilmore Girls, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Lucifer, Stranger Things, The Witcher, Firefly

31. 3 random facts

Your feet are the same length as your forearm! A whale dick is called a dork (if I remember correctly) and I can’t think of a third

32. Are your friends mainly guys or girls?

Girls mostly! I don’t have much in common with many guys 🤷🏻‍♂️ that and I just feel more comfortable around girls

33. Something you want to learn?

Sword fighting!!!! That’d be so cool

34. Most embarrassing moment

I have so many 😂😂😂 I’m a clumsy bastard, but I’ll go with my most recent for now- I saw a cute dog hanging his head out a car window and said hi without realizing there was someone in the passenger seat with their window down 😂😂

35. Favourite subject

Anything compute related!!

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill

Go to Italy, get married, see the northern lights!!!

37. Favourite actor/actress

Melissa McCarthy 😂😂

38. Favourite comedian(s)

John Mulaney, Taylor Tomlinson, Gabriel Iglesias, and Iliza Shlesinger!!

39. Favourite sport(s)

Hockey I guess 🤷🏻‍♂️

40. Favourite memory

Just one??? Hmmmmm….singing Party In The USA with my friends after we’d been inhaling helium 😂

41. Relationship status

Single 😂😂😭

42. Favourite book(s)

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, The Selection by Kiera Cass, and the Nightshade trilogy by Andrea Cremer

43. Favourite song ever

Ever???? Oh man that’s a tough one, maybe Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day???

44. Age you get mistaken for

17/18 😂😂😂so many of the teenagers at work don’t believe me when I say I’m in my 20’s. One of the kids in produce absolutely refused to believe I’m older than him

45. How you found out about your idol

N/A

46. What my last text message says

“I know you are”

47. Turn ons

Light nail scratches, is really all I can think of lately 🤷🏻‍♂️ I haven’t had that conversation with someone in quite some time

48. Turn offs

Being non consensually bossy, treating me like an object, daddy/mommy kinks

49. Where I want to be right now

London maybe! I’m really excited to go

50. Favourite picture of your idol

N/A

51. Starsign

Sagittarius!

52. Something I’m talented at

Teaching myself instruments! I’ve taught myself 3 so far! It’s always been something I’ve been able to pick up really quickly

53. 5 things that make me happy

Music, love in any form, snuggles, drives with my favourite people, my favourite comfort foods

54. Something that’s worrying me at the moment

My name and gender marker documents

55. Tumblr friends

God I don’t remember anyone’s URL’s anymore 😂😂 but I have a fair amount! I talk to 99% of them on other platforms now so 🤷🏻‍♂️

56. Favourite food(s)

Nachos, mashed potatoes, any sort of cheesy/creamy pasta! Grilled cheese, grilled salmon roll, and really any form of potatoes actually

57. Favourite animal(s)

Wolves are my absolute favourite

58. Description of my best friend

Curly brown (it looks brown to me 😂 I know you’ll come at me for this when you see it) hair, blue eyes, the gayest fashion sense, practical, will always tell me when I need to pull my head outta my ass 😂💚

59. Why I joined Tumblr

I wanted a safe space to explore things like mental health, transitioning and a few other things!

60. Ask me anything you want

Self explanatory, have at ‘er

#personal #it me #jaces life #as requested!

4 notes · View notes

corvidshipping · 3 years

Text

modern au red/milo dump while i try to get myself together to answer asks nd work on ATJ:

(tw for alcohol mentions near the end, also this is an EXTREMELY long post, its so long that even after i split it into categorized sections each section could be its own post)

CLOTHING

milo absolutely has no sense of fashion. i feel like this is basically canon - for the styles at the time, he dresses fairly basic, mostly focused on looking put together for his job (definitely dresses aimed more towards how he would like to be treated by his peers, despite his actual position - then again our best example outside of the expedition is when he's about to deliver what he considers the most important presentation of his life, so who knows, maybe he usually dresses like a slob). aside from that his main concern seems like practicality and comfort. his wardrobe is dominated by earth tones - beiges and greens set with white and greys. all of that taken into account, i can see him dressing like this in a more modern era:

basically- a lot of cardigans, usually collared shirts or comfortable turtlenecks (since he does still occupy a research position at the smithsonian, even if only in title), big ol' coats, khakis and chinos and slightly stiff dress pants complete with ironed creases. i can see him wearing similar clothes outside work, just more comfortable - jeans and knitted shirts, henleys, more turtlenecks, and comfy cardigans over short sleeved shirts. i dont really see him wearing a lot of prints, i think he'd veer more towards solid clothes in lighter colors, but maybe he has a few. hes definitely the kind of guy to think of wearing the single graphic tee he owns as "bold and wild".

im very married to the idea of him wearing converse though. i cant explain it. milo in converse keeps me going in this world

hes kind of broke so i think maybe he got the converse secondhand maybe? or a gift of some kind. aside from the converse i can see him wearing a lot of oxfords and maybe wingtips

i want to see him in a hawaiian shirt so bad. i am losing it at this thought. he buttons it all the way up to his neck like someones awkward dad. milo wears a hawaiian shirt to "let loose". he wears it with like, khakis. or knee length jorts AHHHHDJHDSGJHDSJGh

a tie??? does he wear his hawaiian shirt with a tie???? does he think it makes it look cooler?????????? i am sobbing

red is the COMPLETE opposite. in the canon 1914 setting, red is already very rebellious for an AFAB person of their era- theyre openly a suffragette, they frequently refuse to wear skirts even in public and dress in mens clothes even before they were openly nonbinary, despite not being accepted into the male-dominated research fields and colleges they continue to educate themself with or without help, they purposely aim for an "unfeminine" silhouette when they dress, refuse to wear corsets, etc. (spoiler alert- there's a clear reason they get on so well with audrey in ATJ)

theyre also easily mistaken by people that didnt know them prior to their transition for being just a very small/young cis man- even though they canonically have a very soft "traditionally feminine" face

so basically, in any era theyre set into, red is always gonna aim to be ahead of the curve- both in their personal beliefs and practices and in their fashion. theyre also very androgynous in their clothes, although they tend to aim a bit more masculine (thats partially due to the era though, and having been forced into skirts exclusively for their entire life- i think in a modern setting where its more acceptable for AFABs to dress and act in a less hyperfeminine way, theyd be more okay with a fluidity in their gender presentation).

all that taken into account, i can see them dressing like this:

lots of baggy clothes, especially baggy jackets and shirts. they like loose fitting high waisted pants like JNCO jeans, cargo pants, etc but they arent averse to pencil legs. they rarely ever wear skinny jeans or drainpipes though. messy hair is a lifestyle for them- their haircut is definitely home-done

you know how in BICSTLY they used to have really long hair before they cut it? in a modern au i can see them impulsively doing the cut at like 3am and waking milo up at his door cause they screwed it up and he ends up having to help fix it (even though hes literally no better at cutting hair than them. worse even)

definitely have an undercut bob- bob on top, shaven on the bottom layer. they might end up growing their hair into a mullet at some point if they get bored. probably dyes their hair all the time out of boredom and then regrets it later and has to use dye remover.

lots of ripped tights and fishnets, leggings with big loose crop tops, big hoodies, safety pin jewelry and homemade jewelry. maybe some sticknpokes.

all that said, they still know how to dress in a professional situation. since its a modern au theres really nothing holding them back from the education and career they canonically want but cant get in the 1910s, so i imagine they would work at the smithsonian as well, maybe their father helped them get the job? potentially in that case they might be his assistant- after all, he trusts their opinion on artifacts more than anyone else's.

at work you can still very much see the punk/skater/grunge/goth style but its more understated- turtlenecks, high waisted and looser dress pants, lots of black, slightly unbuttoned collared shirts with a loose overcoat and no tie

since i elaborated on milos shoe taste i may as well elaborate on red's: they definitely wear converse as well, probably newer than milo's since their father is fairly wealthy and they can afford it. they also have a doc martens collection. they have a pair of demonias but they never wear them and milo is really the only person to even know they own them, let alone see them in them. they really dont like to wear heels much, but they own a few just to play around with. they have a bad habit of wearing any laced shoes untied, but they never trip over the laces. they also use lace code- their most-worn Docs have purple laces on the right foot and yellow on the left. some of their Docs have (reclaimed) pink laces.

has an extensive pin collection including feminism pins, anti-racism pins, punk-related pins, skater-related pins, and pop culture pins (80s music, modern music, old movies, etc)

MUSIC TASTE

milo's into a lot of older music- stuff from the 50s is his favorite. really into jazz and ballroom style stuff. his favorite band is queen, i think- he likes the old-fashioned sound, the jazz-chamber-ballroom influences, the diversity of their lyrics, and the complexity between the guitar riffs, the basslines, and freddie's vocal runs as well as the vocal harmonies.

sometimes he hums good old fashioned lover boy to red and they two-step in the living room in their pajamas :pleading:

also very into rush. yes, he is a rush guy :pensive:.

also listens to a surprising amount of lo-fi? he really likes stuff that remixes older music with hip hop and lofi elements, like earl grey. nearly exclusively into instrumental stuff but also very into louie zong. he listens to it while he works a lot.

knows a lotttt of foreign artists, especially niche ones. fuckin LOVES casiopea

red's spotify is a goddamn mess. everything from 2000s emo, to classic 70s punk, to post-punk and new wave, to 90s pop, to rap. they cant be easily classified at all

their favorite bands are oingo boingo, prince, queen (they listen to a lot of their harder-rock music, but milo knows theyre into the ballads too. theyll never tell anyone else though), doja cat, lil nas, fall out boy, and billie eilish.

red recites the intro monologue to lets go crazy very seriously to make milo laugh, sometimes. they get very into it with their facial expressions. sometimes it devolves into a full air guitar/keyboard/drum and wild dancing session. milo does not know how to participate in this but he loves watching them have fun with it. sometimes they pull him off the couch to make him dance with them, though

they are a huge sucker for dark pop, vaporwave, retrowave, EDM, hip hop, emo, punk... etc etc. anything that combines any two or more of those genres in an original or interesting way gets their attention right away

there's a lot of sharing between the two of them- even though their music tastes are so different, they like a lot of the others taste, and theyre always up to listen to whatever their partner is playing.

red is a huge softie, and milo has found them more than once listening to or humming something he was playing for them the other day because it reminded them of him

speaking of which- in the 1914 canon, red can play piano. i think that carries over to a modern au, where they could play piano and by extension keyboard. i like to think they experiment with a lot of instruments but i doubt they ever really mastered any others. maybe theyre okay at drums or bass?

they learned to play and sing teo torriatte for milo, as a surprise. when they first performed it for them, they had everything set up for when he got home from work- the lights were dimmed, they had candles lit around the keyboard, they draped stuff in cloth to make it look pretty, they scattered flower petals around. when milo walked in and saw it all, he almost proposed then and there- the only thing that stopped him was that he would kick himself for the rest of his life if he did that without a ring.

HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES

milo is still an avid chess player in this, but i like to think hes in some kind of groupchat or text or discord server for it. he doesnt necessarily consider any of the others in the chat close friends, but he does know them all by name

he tries to get red into chess but they never really get it

he tells them all about the stuff that goes down in the games and they just. do not understand. but they love listening to him get excited about it anyway

"red you're not gonna BELIEVE this, eddie played an italian game on star today! i thought for sure she would see through it since everyone knows it but she slipped and he beat her in like, 13 moves! i wouldnt have believed it if i hadnt been there!"

"yes sweetie please tell me more" (barely disguised pained expression)

red is a skater and a regular at the skate park by the smithsonian

most regulars there know them by name, they can spot a newbie a mile away

they have a sticker of a broken tv with a skull inside of it on the underside of their board, its become recognized as a symbol of them unofficially

since theyre so regular and have been going there a lot longer than most of the other skaters that frequent the place, a lot of what they say is kind of just accepted as the rules

they have a bad habit of lecturing new kids who show up without knee/elbow pads or helmets at the very least. all the other skaters enforce it too. kids dont end up showing up without protective gear very often after their first visit

they brought a first aid kid and left it there and everyone has kept it stocked pretty well without them having to have much input. its kind of just a communal first aid kit

they once drew the broken tv symbol on the inside of a half-pipe and everyone started calling it red's ramp after that

they also started calling the bowl at the center of the park the Soup Bowl and now thats just accepted as the name. some of the newer kids genuinely thought that it was called that by the park and were shocked when they found out it was just a random nickname red gave it one day

theyve brought milo a few times but hes extremely awkward on his feet and could never really get his balance on a skateboard, and quite frankly red is afraid of what might happen if he tried even a low ramp, so he usually just sits at the rim of the bowl while red skates around

everyone knew he was their boyfriend before they even met him. a few of the regulars called him by name right away. one of them was certain red had brought him before.

but no

they just talk so fuckin much about him that its like they already know him

aside from skateboarding, red is pretty good on rollerskates/blades

they tried to take milo to a roller rink once but it was a disaster and they ended up going home, changing into pajamas, ordering chinese food, and marathoning movies till they fell asleep on the couch together. so not a total loss

theyre both very into movies. red is deep into horror and milo likes indie/art movies and just Cannot handle horror at all, but they both agree on old movies, from the 80s and 90s to like the 30s.

red has shown milo some of the classic horror movies and the niche old ones (from like the 40s) since theyre not difficult to stomach

every so often when red brings up wanting to see a horror movie milo is like "aw babe we can watch that tonight i promise it wont be bad" and he genuinely thinks he can handle it this time

he cant

he never can

it is always a lie

red ends up holding him every time and talking him to sleep, but it thankfully never causes like a major panic attack or anything like that

they love going to museums together, of all kinds. they love art museums. they also go to aquariums and aviaries

sometimes they like to go to other history museums and criticise the veracity or accuracy of exhibits/translations, all in good fun of course. theyre never actually being mean about it

SIDENOTES/UNCATEGORIZED

they both used to work at starbucks, when they were younger and before they worked at the smithsonian. they worked at separate stores 2 blocks from each other.

milo cant stand soda or carbonated drinks, red can and will chug a java monster in order to survive a long workday if they must. milo is constantly concerned for their health and wellbeing

they r both lightweights when it comes to drinking. they can split a six pack and both be falling-over drunk by the end of the night.

given the changes in beauty standards people DEFINITELY think milo is more attractive than they would in 1914. cmon. hes a lil twinky nerd. you think people wont eat that up?

he never really catches onto the flirting much though

did u think i would forget ki/da and the others? youd be wrong.

i simultaneously like the idea of something similar to the movie happening, but also just like... ki/da just being a regular person living on the surface. in either case they r all friends still

in the case of ki/da just being a regular person on the surface- i like the idea of atl/antis just being A Place in this au, maybe its a bit of a closed off country though? like, not many foreigners live there and to get there you basically need to be there as a diplomat or a scholar

maybe ki/da visits DC as a diplomat? she is a princess, after all

red meets audrey online cause they both yell at the same misogynistic asshole on twitter

they exchange discord names in the replies of the tweet and tell the guy not to interrupt them while theyre talking in his replies

i like to think red and milo are selected to go on an academic visit to atl/antis (to learn about the culture, with permission of the king), and audrey ends up as the mechanic on the ship during the visit and theyre like (spiderman pointing meme) at each other

red and audrey have so many inside jokes that they basically speak a different language. milo gets some of the terms from context and pop culture (they use "so very" in real life- as in "wow, that shirt is so very.") but he is hopeless to learn all of it

one of their inside jokes is any variation of "milo hot girl summer" and they REFUSE to explain it to him no matter how much he begs

milo wears that iconique tank top on the ship and they say it literally any time he bends over, picks anything up, reaches for anything, moves, BREATHES. he is bewildered and at this point concerned

(in truth, the joke came from red taking a really blurry picture of him in a short sleeve shirt where he looked pretty cute and captioned it "milo's having a hot girl summer rn" and they just could not stop repeating it once audrey met him IRL)

they have a minecraft world. i do like to believe that every so often vinny finds a way in- theyre never sure how- and griefs the shit out of them by blowing up EVERY. monument.

this post is getting long bc im enraptured by the idea of an atl/antis modern au so im cutting it off here but expect WAY MORE later

#paper_heart.txt #s: i didn't say it's the smart thing. but it is the right thing #alcohol ment tw

2 notes · View notes

rebeldaydreams · 5 years

Text

Atonement (Dutch van der Linde x Reader)

words: 5k

pairing: Dutch van der Linde x Reader (Gender-neutral), a small amount of Arthur x Reader

summary: After a heated argument with Dutch, Reader storms out of camp but ends up getting caught by the O’Driscoll’s. Dutch, Arthur and Charles come to their rescue.

warnings: fairly mild descriptions of torture with a knife, but nothing super gory or anything

a/n: angst/hurt/comfort fic with a lot of Soft Dutch™ at the end because I live for it. Dutch is a father figure in this story. the Arthur stuff can be whatever you want, platonic or romantic! works either way :)

(H/N = horse name)

It was when most of the camp was gathered round the fire in the early evening that you decided to talk to Dutch. Ideally you'd have preferred a more private setting but a lot of the time he'd shut himself in his room or was “busy”. You were tired of waiting. As you approached the fire and subsequent huddle of people gathered round it – most clutching bottles of beer or whiskey – you caught ear of their conversation.

“Good job today, Arthur.” Dutch said, giving Arthur a congratulatory clap on the shoulder.

“Couldn’t’a done it without you.” He replied.

Hosea piped up from behind them. “Oh and I didn’t do anything I suppose.”

Arthur turned to him and chuckled. “And you, old man.”

Hosea mumbled a begrudged thank you and returned to his drink.

“We’ll be out of here in no time. Especially if we carry on like this.” Dutch said, raising the bottle he held as an unspoken toast.

“And where exactly will we be going?” you asked, stepping forward into the light of the fire as you decided to pitch in. You weren’t sure if it had been the spontaneity of your question, or perhaps the way in which you asked it, but the gang fell silent and heads turned. You looked intently towards Dutch, whose brow had furrowed at your interjection.

“Well...away from here, for starters.” Dutch replied with a small laugh, which was accompanied by a few agreements from the gang. You weren’t sold by his vague answer.

“What happened to “going back to the West”, huh?” you asked. Dutch's smile fell at your response.

“What exactly are you getting at, Y/N?” he asked, watching you carefully. You shrugged.

“I just wanna know what the plan is, Dutch! I’m sick of not knowing, I’m sick of being in a different place every other month!” You said, not as calmly as you’d intended.

Dutch nodded, dropping his now-empty beer bottle on the grass and sliding his hands into his pockets, taking a step towards you.

“We will be out of here soon, I promise you that. All we need is more money, we can’t do anything without more money.” He explained slowly. Your last shred of patience disappeared as the last word left his lips.

“There you go again! All you ever talk about is fucking money!” Your voice was slightly raised now, as much as you were trying to control your temper. You’d just been holding this in so long, it was all coming out whether you wanted it to or not. Dutch remained calm and collected.

“Because we need it, Y/N.” He replied coolly. “I promise you we will be out of here in no time.”

None of the others chipped in or said a word, they stayed silent, listening to the conversation. If it could still be called a conversation. You took a moment to collect your thoughts, trying to put together a coherent sentence.

“I have spent weeks doing what you asked – doing jobs, getting money – with little to no questions asked, because I trust you Dutch. I always have. But look at us.” You gestured vaguely around the camp at Shady Belle. “Hiding in some godforsaken swamp?”

“It’s temporary, Y/N.” Still, Dutch kept his cool. You lost yours.

“Temporary?! Bullshit! We’ve been here for weeks! And still you haven’t told us anything! We’ve got O'Driscolls, Raiders and Pinkertons on us every god damn day and we don’t have any kind of plan. I’m fucking tired of it, Dutch!” your voice was shaking with anger, though also maybe relief at finally letting all this out.

“What do you want me to tell you?” Dutch's voice sounded lower, with more of a growl to it, and the volume had increased just slightly.

You looked at him with an incredulous expression.

“Anything! Tell us what your grand plan is, where we’re going from here. I’m sick of going to bed at night and wondering if I’m going to get shot in my sleep.” You paused a moment, narrowing your eyes at him as the realisation hit you. “But you can’t tell us anything, can you. You can’t tell us your 'grand plan’ because you don’t have one.”

There was a glint of something in Dutch's eyes. You couldn’t quite place it.

“I look up to you, Dutch. We all do. I trust you. But if you don’t know where we’re going from here just tell us. Enough with all this “we just need more money” crap. We need an actual god damn plan.”

Dutch stepped even closer, looming over you, but you stood your ground.

“Why don’t you try being the leader, then, Y/N? Since you feel the need to tell me how to do my job.” He growled.

“”Do your job”? Give me a break, Dutch.” You scoffed at him. “Much as it is hard to believe, the world doesn’t revolve around you, and this camp certainly does not.”

Dutch opened his mouth as if to speak but you cut in again.

“You know what? I’m starting to wish you’d never found me in the first place.” You snapped.

Dutch stood silent for a few moments, taking a step backwards and meeting your gaze.

“Get out.”

The words pierced you like a knife, your stomach turning at hearing them come from his mouth. Arthur stepped forward, grabbing Dutch’s shoulder.

“Dutch, the hell are you-“

“You heard me!” Dutch barked, violently shrugging Arthur off.

You nodded, a fake, forced smile on your face. “You don’t need to ask me twice.”

You turned and stormed off towards your tent. Dutch did the same, retreating to his quarters with not another word.

There was nothing but hushed whispers from the camp for the next 15 minutes as you threw your belongings into your bag - not that you had a lot anyway. You were so deep in your own thoughts that you didn’t hear someone enter your tent behind you.

“Where will you go?” Arthur’s voice sounded and you half turned, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

“I’m not sure yet.” You replied in a quiet voice, almost the polar opposite of how you’d spoken to Dutch minutes earlier.

“You don’t have to leave. Just stay here and-“ Arthur began quietly, but you cut him off.

“Dutch made himself quite clear. I think it’s best if I go.” You said.

You picked up your satchel and bag, then turned and finally met Arthur’s gaze.

“I’m sorry, Arthur.” You said, your voice at the risk of breaking. “I just...I need some space.”

You gave him a sorrowful look before passing him and leaving the tent.

As you were securing your bags to your horse you heard footsteps behind you. You knew immediately who they belonged to.

“Jus’ be careful, alright.”

Arthur's soft voice made you turn around and as you met his gaze, tears threatened to spill down your cheeks. You nodded, and Arthur reached out with both hands and cupped your face in his palms.

“I’ll speak to Dutch. Okay? You know what his temper is like...” he said. You nodded again, casting your eyes down. You reached a hand up and briefly covered one of his with your own, lightly brushing the back of his hand with your thumb before you moved away to mount your horse.

You cast one quick glance up at the house, seeing Dutch on the balcony with a cloud of cigar smoke swirling above his head, before you spurred your horse with a “hyah!” and started off down the long road.

You had a friend who had a little place up near Strawberry – you were going to try them first, see if you could crash with them for a little while. They owed you a favour. You kept running your argument with Dutch through your head. Had you been a complete fool? Maybe. Admittedly, you regretted some of the things you’d said in the heat of the moment. You weren’t going to stay away forever, of course, but it was clear you needed some space from Dutch.

You’d been riding for maybe 2 hours when suddenly you found your path blocked by two men on horseback, with the barrels of their rifles pointed towards you. You brought your horse to a skidding halt, whipping your head round to see three more men now blocking the path behind you. You cursed under your breath.

“Well well well, if it ain’t one of Dutch's loyal dogs.” Came the thick, Irish voice of one of the men blocking your path. You gripped the reins of your horse with white knuckles.

“Let me guess...Colm’s boys?” you said.

They laughed, and the one who had previously spoken pushed his horse a few steps towards you.

“You are a clever one. Colm has a bit of...unfinished business with Mr Van Der Linde. We were hopin' you could help us out.” He said smoothly. You didn’t take your eyes off him.

“You're very sorely mistaken if you believe I'm going to do anything for you.” You said, your hand hovering near your revolver.

“It’s more what you can tell us, actually.”

You hadn’t heard the men behind you dismount. By the time you did, you didn’t have any time to react. They grabbed you, yanking you down off your horse. You were thrown to the dirt road, but when you reached for your gun you found it wasn’t there. Looking up, you saw one of the O'Driscoll's waving it in his hand.

“Looking for this?”

The last thing you heard was a sequence of laughs, before the butt of your revolver made contact with the back of your head. Amidst the chaos, your Horse reared back, neighing loudly in alarm before he ran. One of the men went to go after him but was stopped.

“Let it go, dumb horse won’t last long on its own.” One of the other men said. “Come on let’s get this one back to the camp.”

Your unconscious form was thrown without care onto the back of one of their horses, and then they made off into the sunset whilst your own horse sped off in the direction you'd come from.

It was John’s turn to keep watch that night. A few people were still up and about but the majority of camp were in the privacy of their own tents, or asleep. He had resigned to leaning on a nearby tree as he lit up another cigarette. A few serene minutes passed, with only the distant noises of the swamp audible, until a sound made him straighten up and ready his rifle.

“Who's there?” he called out, squinting down the dark road. He could hear a horse, and eventually it came into view. “I said who's the-“

John cut himself off when he noticed that the horse had no rider.

“What the...” he said with a furrowed brow, lowering his gun and stepping out into the road. At the commotion, Arthur had come out of his tent to see what was happening.

“What’s goin' on?” he asked, coming up to stand beside John as he tucked his journal back into his satchel.

“Horse, but no rider.” John said. Your horse was now close enough so that Arthur could see him properly, and his eyes widened.

“That’s Y/N’s horse – H/N.” He said in alarm, breaking into a jog to meet the distressed animal.

“Whoah, whoah, easy boy. Easy…“ he said, raising his hands to the horse, whose eyes were wide. “Easy.”

After a minute or so of gentle encouragement, H/N calmed down enough so Arthur could pet him.

“There we go, sshh...” Arthur cooed.

Dutch, having heard the loud, distressed neighing, had emerged from camp and was approaching Arthur and John.

“What the hell is all the racket?” he asked. Arthur turned to him, his hands still gently petting H/N on the neck. Dutch's gaze rested on the horse. “Is that...?”

Arthur nodded.

“But where’s Y/N?”

Arthur dropped his hands down and shrugged. “No idea. That’s what’s worryin’ me.”

Dutch walked over to the horse to inspect the saddle. He dug around in the saddlebag and found it full, and upon further inspection found your rifle and shotgun were still stowed.

“They wouldn’t just dismount without taking any of this.” Dutch concluded.

“You think something happened?” Arthur asked, a concerned look in his eyes.

“Y/N loves this horse. You really think they’d just up and leave him?” Dutch said. H/N was becoming restless again, trying to pull away from Arthur who was now holding his reigns.

“He’s trying to lead us somewhere.” Dutch said, making for his own horse. “Arthur, mount up on him! Let him take us wherever he wants us to go.”

Arthur nodded at the instruction, climbing up onto your horse. At the very least, Arthur was glad that Dutch wasn’t still angry at you seeing at how quickly he’d jumped into action at the very thought of you being in danger.

“Charles! We need an extra gun.” Dutch shouted back into camp.

Charles, who had been crouching by the fire, voiced his acknowledgement and whistled for his own horse.

Arthur gave H/N an encouraging pat and gentle prod with his spurs and he broke into a gallop down the path, Dutch and Charles following close behind.

The three had been riding for a couple of hours when, eventually, H/N came to a stop in the middle of a road, still seeming quite distressed.

Arthur shushed him, giving him a praising pat. “Good boy.”

Dutch dismounted The Count, followed swiftly by Arthur and Charles.

“Look around for any clues that could tell us what happened.” Dutch instructed, and the three began scouting the immediate area.

Arthur knelt a few feet from where they’d stopped, inspecting something in the dirt.

“Blood.” He said, running his finger along the dirt. “There was some kinda struggle here, for sure.”

“There’s tracks, here. Look.” Charles said, beckoning them over to him. “Not fresh, but they lead off road.”

Dutch mounted back up on his horse without a second thought. “Let’s go.”

The three made off in the direction of the tracks, with Charles leading the way. They rode a short while, coming to the edge of a forest. Charles held up his hand as a signal to stop.

“Voices. Through the trees.” He said quietly. “Leave the horses here, we should go forward on foot.”

“Do we gotta keep doin' this? Where's Van Der Linde’s fucking money?”

The O'Driscoll doing the interrogating was using both hands to hold you roughly by the collar of your shirt, now stained with your own blood. Your hands were tied above your head with coarse rope to a makeshift hook on the ceiling, your feet barely brushing the ground. Your face was painted with bruises and your lip split and bleeding. They’d kicked you in the shins, punched you in the stomach, and hadn’t given up with their assault just yet.

You lifted your beaten face and stared him down.

“Up your fucking ass.”

Another hard swing to your face sent you reeling backwards. You’d held it reasonably together so far, but you were starting to break. The pain was starting to get to you.

“Fuck, why did I get into that stupid argument and walk out...they’re never going to come and find me. I’m going to die in this fucking cellar.”

Your thoughts raced around like untamed horses, but you were brought sharply back to reality when the O'Driscoll brandished a knife in front of your face.

“I’d say I was hopin’ it wouldn’t come to this, but to be honest...I was really hopin' it would.” He grinned.

You just stared him down, trying to hide the fact that your heart was beating out of your chest.

“So, where’s the money.” He asked once more, holding the knife firmly against your cheek. You didn’t say anything, just glared at him.

“Fine.” He said, and pulled the knife sharply across your cheek. You bit down on your tongue but a strangled noise of pain still escaped you. Blood ran freely down your face from the fresh cut.

The O'Driscoll grabbed your throat, his patience clearly wavering. “Tell me where the fucking money is you little piece of shit.”

“You’re...just gonna...have to kill me...” you said, voice slightly strained from the grip he had around your neck.

“Oh but I’m just starting to have fun.” He said darkly.

You didn’t know how much longer you could last. You were hurting everywhere, all you wanted to do was sleep. The O'Driscoll had dropped to his knees in front of you and lifted your shirt up enough to expose part of your stomach.

“Seeing as you’re so loyal to that bastard...” he said, with a small, sinister laugh.

The moment the knife broke your skin, you let out a wail. You tried to pull away but your bonds denied you any such movement. He carved into your stomach and finally you broke, unable to hold back your screams of agony any longer. The O’Driscoll paused for a moment and you distantly heard the word that fell from your lips.

“Please...” you said weakly. Tears were falling down your cheeks now, mixing with the blood, and sweat glistened on your forehead.

He said nothing but was revelling in your beg for relief. Still, he returned his knife to your skin. You wailed, thrashing in your bonds until you thought you might pass out.

“There.” He stood, admiring his handiwork. He grabbed your chin, forcing you to look down as he held up your shirt. On your stomach, he’d crudely carved the letters “D.V.D.L”.

“Now...” he stood inches from you, locking eyes with yours. You were pale and drenched in sweat, tears and blood. It was a marvel you were still conscious. “Last chance.”

You didn’t even have the time to think of an answer before you were interrupted with gunfire and raised voices from outside.

“What the fuck?” your torturer muttered, going across to the door. Before his hand touched the doorknob, it was kicked open and he stumbled backwards. You squinted towards the door, trying to see who it was through your bleary vision.

The sound of a gunshot filled the small room, and the O'Driscoll fell in a heap to the floor.

“Goddamn asshole.”

You’d recognise that voice anywhere.

“A-Arthur...?” you said in a strained voice.

He crossed the room and immediately pulled out his knife to cut you free, moving to step behind you.

“Thank Christ you ain’t dead.” Arthur said. “It’s me, darlin', you’re ok...and Charles, and...”

“Y/N.“ Dutch stepped over the dead O'Driscoll on the floor, making his way over to you as Arthur got started on cutting through the ropes holding your wrists. “Thank god you’re alive.”

He stopped in front of you, and his brow creased as he took in your ragged appearance. “What did they do to you...”

“D-Dutch...I'm s-so sorry, I-I....” you stammered, fresh tears (of relief, mostly) falling down your cheeks. Dutch shushed you, gently taking your face in his hands whilst being wary of the cut on your left cheek.

“Its all right. You’re alive, that’s all that matters.” He said, wiping away your tears and trying not to disturb any of the abrasions on your face.

Arthur finally cut through the ropes around your wrists and you fell into Dutch, your legs refusing to work. He caught you, quickly sliding one arm under your legs to carry you.

Charles met them as they left the O'Driscoll's cabin, a look of relief crossing his face when he saw you were alive.

“Place is clear, from what I can see.” He said. “I got the horses, too.”

You were ready to pass out, your head resting against Dutch's shoulder as he carried you across to your horse where Arthur had already mounted up.

“You take her-“ Dutch said, and Arthur leaned down to help lift you up, sitting you in front of him.

“I’ll scout around and make sure there’s no more nearby. See you back at camp.” Charles said, mounting up on his own horse.

Arthur mumbled a farewell before following Dutch back to Shady Belle. On the way back he made sure to speak to you, trying to keep you awake. It was a long ride back to camp, and you were fighting to keep your eyes open. Not trusting yourself enough to stay upright, you leaned back into Arthur, your head falling against his shoulder. He secured an arm around you to hold you against him, trying his best to not disturb any injuries he couldn’t see.

“Nearly there, sweetheart.” Arthur mumbled to you eventually.

Upon arrival to the camp, as the horse came to a halt, you became incredibly dizzy. You just about could make out Arthur's voice.

“Shit, Y/N’s passin' out. HEY! WE NEED HELP OVER HERE!”

You blacked out for a little while, only to blearily regain consciousness some time later. You were being carried somewhere. Was that Dutch's voice?

“Lay them down – careful!”

You looked worse now. Or maybe Arthur just hadn’t had a proper look of you in that cabin. Miss Grimshaw turned up at your tent with a box of medical supplies and a bowl of water, placing them on the table next to the bed.

“They do look in a bad way.” she said, kneeling beside Arthur who was beginning to look you over. Normally, Arthur wouldn’t have anything to do with this and just leave Miss Grimshaw to her work (as she is very good at it) but with you, it was different. He didn’t want to leave your side.

Dutch, meanwhile, stood watching from behind. Arthur was rummaging around in the box, pulling out some rags and soaking them in the water.

“Nothin’ too serious, I think. They beat ‘em half to hell, the bastards, but at least they didn’t kill ‘em.” He said, pressing the cloth to your forehead and making a start on washing away the blood and dirt on your face.

A blood stain on the lower half of your shirt caught Dutch's eye. “Wait – under their shirt there.”

Arthur carefully lifted your shirt up, feeling the damp material peeling away from your skin. His breath caught as he saw the cause of the blood. Dutch's hands curled into tight fists at the sight of his own initials carved into your skin.

“Shit...” Arthur muttered.

“Sick bastards!” Miss Grimshaw exclaimed with a gasp.

“Colm will pay for this.” Dutch growled through gritted teeth. “Take care of Y/N...I’ll be...alone. I need some time to think.”

Arthur watched him leave before turning his attention back to you. He and Miss Grimshaw took care of your wounds fine, mostly it was scrapes and bruises, but just when they’d finish with one they’d find another. There were also the wounds they couldn’t see – the non-physical ones.

“Who knows what they put 'em through.” Arthur mumbled, watching as you slept. The peaceful expression on your face calmed him.

Miss Grimshaw had just finished dressing the cut on your cheek and was putting the medical supplies back into the box. “They’ll be just be fine, they’re tough. Get that from you.”

Arthur nodded with a small smile at her comment, letting his hand briefly rest over yours.

“We should let them rest. You should get some sleep too, Arthur.”

“Yeah.” Arthur cleared his throat and stood, looking down at you. Miss Grimshaw seemed to sense his worry and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“They’ll be awake in a few hours. You need sleep, Mr Morgan.” She said, in a firm but caring manner.

“Yeah, I know. You're right.”

She left, but before Arthur did the same, he lightly brushed the back of his fingers across your cheek and pressed a kiss to your forehead. You didn’t stir as he left. He glanced back at you once more before letting the tent flap fall shut.

The next time you woke, it was early in the morning. The flaps of your tent were blowing gently in the breeze and the light poking through the cracks was that of a sun which had only just risen. Outside was quiet, except for some birds singing in the trees. You felt disorientated and confused at first, as you opened your eyes. You were back in your tent in camp. You remembered Arthur and Dutch rescuing you....Dutch. That would be an interesting conversation to have later.

You had no memory of how you got back, so assumed you’d been unconscious for most of it. The more you woke up, the more you became aware of your injuries. You shifted slightly in your bed and winced at a dull pain from near your waist. You moved your hand over the area, sliding it under your shirt (finding that your wrists were sore in the process) and felt bandages beneath your fingertips. Memory of the O'Driscoll carving into your skin flashed in your mind and you squeezed your eyes shut, letting your hand drop back down to your side. You tried to sit up but immediately regretted it, groaning as your head throbbed and every other part of your body seemed to ache at the movement.

“Careful.” A voice from the doorway startled you and you snapped your head to the side. The light outside made it hard to see who your visitor was, but you would recognise that voice anywhere.

“Dutch.” You said weakly, your head dropping back down to your pillow. In that moment a million thoughts flooded your head. Was he still angry with you? You were half expecting a rant from him. However the warm smile he gave you as he stepped inside told you otherwise. Seeing you still halfway to a sitting position, he crossed the expanse of your tent and slipped his arm beneath your shoulders to help you sit up, propping up your pillow with his other hand. You mumbled a thanks as he pulled a chair up to your bedside.

“How you doing?” he asked.

“I’m ok.” You said quietly, squinting up at him as your eyes got used to the light. He looked tired, you noticed. “How long was I out?”

Dutch pulled out his pocket watch and examined it. “Nearly 14 hours now.”

Your eyes widened.

“No wonder I feel like shit...” you mumbled.

Dutch emitted a quiet laugh, though when he next spoke there was a hint of something in his voice – perhaps anger, at the people who hurt you. “Well, that and being beaten half to death.”

You looked over at him. “Did you-?”

He cut you off. “They’re dead.”

You looked up to the roof of your tent, muttering a quiet; “Good.”

You sighed quietly, unable to bear the silence even for a few moments. You had too much on your mind. “Listen, Dutch, I-“

He waved his hand to stop you, clearly already knowing what you were going to say, but you didn’t let him stop you.

“No, I need to say this.” You said firmly and, in a manner quite unlike himself, Dutch sat back in his chair and went silent.

Why were you suddenly so nervous about saying this? Maybe it had something to do with the intimacy of the situation. Dutch was rather an intimidating person, after all. Not that you were scared of him, of course, he just had a very particular aura about him. And maybe it also had something to do with the fact that you looked up to him and respected him and the very last thing you’d ever want to do was upset him or let him down.

You took a deep, shaky breath before speaking, trying to recall all the time you’d spent in that cellar figuring out what you’d say to Dutch if you ever got out of it alive.

“I…I’m sorry for what I said, I didn’t mean it, I was just…” You sighed, looking down at your clasped hands in your lap. “I got angry an’ upset and I wasn’t thinking straight.”

You felt a lump rise in your throat and your voice threatened to break as you spoke.

“What I said, ‘bout wishing you had never found me and taken me in…it wasn’t true, any of it. This gang’s best thing that’s happened to me, Dutch.”

If you’d looked up then, you’d have seen Dutch’s furrowed brow as he listened intently, and the smile on his face from your confession. He reached out and covered both your hands with one of his, catching your eye.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you to leave, I…” He shook his head and looked down briefly. “Honestly, I regretted it as soon as I said it but, well, perhaps my pride got the better of me. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

You blinked at him, surprised by what he’d said. He didn’t exactly say “I was wrong” (that’d be the day), but it was close enough.

“If I hadn’t lost my temper in the first place then none of this would have ever happened to you.” He had the sincerest look in his eyes that you’d ever seen as he looked down to where his hand covered yours, lightly brushing his fingers over the bandages that were covering the nasty rope burns on your wrists.

“I am sorry, Y/N.”

Perhaps you’d misheard him, but it sounded like his voice wavered and your heart broke at the sound of it.

“This ain’t your fault.” You squeezed his hand to reaffirm your statement. “You had no idea this was gonna happen, Dutch. Please don’t blame yourself.”

He nodded.

“I know, I know…you’re right. As usual.” He added with a small smile. You leaned across, only getting halfway towards him before your injuries protested at the movement. You stifled a small groan.

“Look, would ya’ get over here so I can hug you.” You said, irritated at your immobility.

Dutch chuckled, obliging your request and shuffling forwards in his seat enough to embrace you in a half hug so as not to accidentally hurt you. One of your arms wound around his shoulders and you buried your face in his chest, inhaling his familiar scent and soaking in his warmth. He brought one hand up to brush through your hair and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“Can you promise me somethin’?” You mumbled into his shirt. He pulled back to look at you, bringing his hand to your cheek.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Go get some sleep.” You said with a smile. He laughed.

“Alright. I promise.”

#dutch van der linde #dutch van der linde x reader #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #my fics

244 notes · View notes

dwindledglow · 4 years

Text

001. MEET JULES

FULL NAME: jules antoine beauchamp. PREFERRED NAME: jules. NICKNAME/S: jul. DATE OF BIRTH: november 13th, 1999. GENDER & PRONOUNS: cis male & he/his. ORIENTATION: hetero. RELIGION: non-practicing christian. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: in a relationship with noémie leroux. OCCUPATION: full time university student. RESIDENCE: flatiron district, new york city.

002. CHECK JULES’ BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: saint tropez, france. NATIONALITY: french. ETHNIC BACKGROUND: french and italian. LINGUISTICS: french which is his native language and english and italian in a fluent level. EDUCATION: he studies mechanical engineering at columbia university. CRIMINAL RECORD: clean. BIRTH ORDER: second though he’s now an only child. FATHER: françois pierre beauchamp, born on june 6th, 1970 in rennes, france, currently residing in montecarlo, monaco. he is a businessman and the owner and CEO of rocamadour spirits group. MOTHER: vivienne giulia del vecchio, born on september 14th, 1974 in sicily, italy, currently residing in montecarlo, monaco. she is an italian billionaire heiress, writer and the owner of del vecchio oil group. SISTER/S: none. BROTHER/S: guillaume maxime beauchamp, born on april 17th, 1997 in saint tropez, france, passed away on july 16th, 2000 in saint tropez, france. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: noémie leroux. CHILDREN: none so far. OTHER RELEVANT FAMILY: none. EX/ES: none, he didn’t have any solid relationships before noémie. PETS: moon, a cavalier king charles.

003. GET UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

HEIGHT: 6′0″ or 183 cm. WEIGHT: between 171 lbs or 77.5 kg and 175 lbs or 79 kg. BODY BUILD: as someone who has exercised and been involved in sports from a young age, jules has always been what would be described as fit. though he’s not obsessed about his diet or his routines, he prefers to eat clean and keep up a 5 to 6 day a week work out schedule. this being said, he has an overall athletic frame with particularly defined abs, toned legs and arms. EYE COLOR: brown. EYESIGHT: his eyesight has no problems. HAIR COLOR & STYLE: he has blonde, lighter during summer, darker in winter months and usually he has his hair shorter on the sides and longer on the top so a very low maintenance look that isn’t particularly hard to style. DOMINANT HAND: right. NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: his smile which, following most people’s opinion, seems to make him seem even younger than he is. overall, if it could be considered as such, the hint of youth, often mistaken by shyness, that his features portray. as the opposition to it, the amount of tattoos scattered all over his body are a standout, as is his athletic frame. SCARS AND MARKS: on top of the usual every day little scars and marks, jules has some which are courtesy of all the exercise he does on a daily basis. otherwise, there’s nothing that is particularly notable or that stands out. TATTOOS: he got a shhh… on the underside of the index finger of his left hand — reference. his following piece consists of a cross with wings on the back of his neck — reference — something that symbolizes his faith and personal beliefs, and definitely the one tattoo he doesn’t like to expand much on for it’s a touchy one. soon afterwards, when one of his best friends - gabrielle - decided she wanted to get inked but was reticent since it would be a first, jules ended up going with her and getting a matching piece ; gabrielle’s micro tattoo reads we’re all in the same game; just different levels split into two parts in a cursive kind of font and is placed on the inside of her left wrist, whereas jules’ completes it and reads dealing with the same hell; just different devils. - his is also split in two, the same font, except it’s placed on the inside of his right wrist. as a consequence of a night where him, léo and henri got completely plastered, he has a smiley face tattooed on his toe. later on, and as the fulfillment of something he really wanted, jules proceeded to get the first piece of what would soon become a half sleeve on his left arm. he got a roaring tiger to symbolize his independence and free spirit while at the same representing strength. a little above it, and completing the half sleeve, he has a blooming rose which has more than one meaning to him - it was chosen to complement the tiger because despite the power and strength, he wishes for balance within his life but more so, and the primary reason why he acquired it back in the day, it’s because, atop of being one of noémie’s favorite flowers, roses can symbolize hope which, truly, translated into, back when he got it, him hoping for the best and hoping they would get together one day. next to the rose and above the tiger, he has a treble clef simply to symbolize his love for music. atop of his half sleeve, on the back of his left arm, he then got two fists bumping, another matching tattoo he got with gabrielle when he was visiting her in kailua. he has a distortion clock, dali’s style, merged into the back of his half sleeve, a tattoo he got soon after noémie started dating mathis and he got his heart broken. clock tattoos often represent an endless love, the meaning stands for his, the distortion only adds to the meaning by representing how heartbroken and helpless he felt at the time. towards the end of his half sleeve, and on the inside of his left wrist, he has the geographic coordinates both to where guillaume - his older brother - was born and where he passed away. he has a diamond, also merged into the back of his sleeve, something he has gotten when he was going through a rough patch as a reminder to focus on the positivity and be strong. additionally, within the half sleeve, you’ll find some more pieces like a G., the initial of his deceased brother’s first name; an anchor, something he got randomly but that also reminds him to stay grounded and a micro tattoo saying côte d’azur meant to represent his home. lastly, merged into the back of his half sleeve, he has a blacklight tattoo that’s otherwise invisible to the eye, reading six septembre, noé’s birthdate. he has the world map with a plane flying in between continents and a compass next to it, on the inside of his right bicep, something that he got soon after realizing he wanted to see more of the world and that he wasn’t willing to, eternally, stay in south of france. as for more recent tattoos, he has gotten the quote peace of mind on his left upper arm which he has begun to shade, and thus begun to extend his half-sleeve into a proper full-sleeve tattoo. higher above the two fists bumping he’s gotten with gabrielle, and complementing the tattoo with some additional shading, he has two keys crossing over each other with a V on one of the keys and a F on the other, representing two key people in his life - vivienne and françois, his mother and father respectively and next to it, he has a tiny sashimi roll tattooed, not really meaning much other than his love for food and sushi. likewise, merged into the others with the shading and all, he has a endless knot on the back of his arm. he has the sentence mon mond fou on the right side of his ribcage, in white ink. along his left hip, he has the quote il vaut mieux faire que dire meaning doing is better than saying, which resembles the whole actions are better than words, something jules avidly believes in. on the underside of his ring finger, he has a N’s - not-so-subtly meaning he’s noémie’s - followed by a micro dix juin - which is when he and noé officially started dating. he has the quote mind over matter is magic along the outer side of his right foot, a note to self more so than anything else, and on his right side, often covered up by his arm, he has the sentence la famille avant tout vertically tattooed in micro, cursive font. PIERCINGS: none. VOICECLAIM: fabio quartararo. ACCENT & INTENSITY: though he spends a good chunk of his time speaking english and has been immersed in the new york environment for nearly a year, there’s no hint of a new yorker accent. from his words down to his enunciation and the way he carries himself as he speaks, you can tell he’s french. the little twists and quirks attached to the words make the south of france accent peer through and the fact his closest friends and girlfriend are french as well, help keeping the accent and its intensity intact. ALLERGIES: apples and cashews. PHOBIAS & FEARS: being stuck in the same place - he’s not claustrophobic but the idea of being confined to a space, no matter how small or how big, it tends to send him spiraling into a state of utmost anxiety. MENTAL & PHYSICAL ILLNESSES: none so far. ALCOHOL USE: sometimes, mostly on social situations. SMOKING: he doesn’t smoke. NARCOTICS USE: no, he doesn’t use drugs. INDULGENT FOOD: it’s not something jul does very often. SPLURGE SPENDING: very rarely. GAMBLING: no, never.

004. DIG DEEPER

CAN THEY DRIVE? yes, he can drive. CAN THEY COOK & BAKE? yes and yes. CAN THEY CHANGE A FLAT TIRE? yes. CAN THEY TIE A TIE? ish. CAN THEY SWIM? yes. CAN THEY RIDE A BICYCLE? yes. CAN THEY JUMP START A CAR? no. CAN THEY BRAID HAIR? badly. CAN THEY PICK A LOCK? no. EXTROVERTED OR INTROVERTED? extroverted. DISORGANIZED OR ORGANIZED? in-between. CLOSE OR OPEN MINDED? open minded. CALM OR ANXIOUS? calm. PATIENT OR IMPATIENT? patient. OUTSPOKEN OR RESERVED? in-between. LEADER OR FOLLOWER? in-between. OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC? optimistic. TRADITIONAL OR MODERN? modern. HARD-WORKING OR LAZY? hard-working. CULTURED OR UNCULTURED? cultured. LOYAL OR DISLOYAL? loyal. FAITHFUL OR UNFAITHFUL? faithful. NIGHT OWL OR EARLY BIRD? a mixture of both depending on the days. HEAVY OR LIGHT SLEEPER? not heavy, nor light. an in-between. COFFEE OR TEA? coffee. DAY OR NIGHT? night. TAKING BATHS OR SHOWERS? showers. COCA COLA OR PEPSI? neither. CATS OR DOGS? dogs. NETFLIX OR CINEMA? netflix. SHOWS OR MOVIES? shows. LAPTOP OR GAMING CONSOLE? gaming console. HEALTHY OR JUNK FOOD? healthy food. ICE CREAM OR FROZEN YOGURT? frozen yogurt. PIZZA OR HAMBURGER? pizza. LOLLIPOPS OR GUMMY WORMS? neither. BEACH OR POOL? beach. SNOWBALLS FIGHTING OR ICESKATING? snowballs fighting. LITERATURE OR SCIENCE? science. HISTORY OR ART? art. CHOCOLATE BARS OR COTTON CANDY? neither. XBOX OR PLAYSTATION? playstation. FACE-TO-FACE OR PHONE INTERACTIONS? face-to-face interactions. DRAMA OR SCI-FI? both. HORROR OR COMEDY? comedy.

005. JULES’ FAVORITES

FAVORITE ACTIVITY: working out. FAVORITE ANIMAL: lion. FAVORITE BOOK: thinking, fast and slow by daniel kahneman. FAVORITE COLOR/S: green. FAVORITE CUISINE: italian. FAVORITE DISH/ES: pissaladière, pan bagnat, gnocchi, profiterole, bananas foster. FAVORITE DRINK/S: pumpkin spice latte and plain iced water. FAVORITE FLOWER/S: roses. FAVORITE GEM: emerald. FAVORITE MOVIE: green book by peter farrelly. FAVORITE SONG: mile high by james blake and travis scott. FAVORITE SCENT/S: citrus, jasmine and musk. FAVORITE SHOW/S: brooklyn nine-nine, how i met your mother, f.r.i.e.n.d.s, the office, fresh prince of bel air, the big bang theory, new girl, the simpsons & rick and morty. FAVORITE SPORT/S & TEAM THEY SUPPORT: soccer, he supports as monaco and juventus fc, motogp, he supports yamaha moto racing, formula 1, he supports mercedes amg petronas, tennis and cycling. FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR: summer. VACATION DESTINATION: banff, canada and anywhere in croatia.

#── ✰. ┊ jules : — HEADCANON. ❜

1 note · View note

acelezz · 6 years

Text

A Look Into My Life: A New Feeling

Ok so I can’t remember if I ever mentioned this before, but I was a late bloomer when it came to developing crushes which is why I never figured out my sexuality until late 2016-mid 2017. I didn’t get my first real crush until I was in 4th grade. None of my friends knew about it and still don’t since my one friend had a crush on him way before I did and I wasn’t looking to get into a competition with her. My next crush wasn’t until 6th grade and it was on a Nickelodeon actor. So far, he has been the only celeb that I’ve ever crushed on. And then my next crush didn’t come until 2016 and I still currently have a crush on her today but it’s not as strong as it used to be since we’re not close anymore and she doesn’t seem to reciprocate my feelings although she will do something every once in awhile that makes me think that she may like me back, which makes me confused. It’s complicated.

Up until recently, I’ve only had 3 strong crushes in my life, 2 being on boys, 1 being on a girl. I have never had a crush on someone who identifies as non binary because I have never met any non binary people before I real life. Only online. Now, I could have non binary people in my area or at my school and just might not know it because I never talked to them. As for my gender, my parents actually said that I’m not allowed to say what it is. That’s why I’m forced to use gender neutral terms to people who aren’t non binary just because it would reveal mine. For example, if I said that I had a same sex crush or an opposite sex crush on someone, I would probably use “they/them” pronouns while talking about them for the rest of the post. I’m not allowed to share any personal information on here, which explains why my bio is so short. I’m not allowed to say my real name or my age either. So my gender, name, and age can be up to your own interpretation. I can’t be offended if you get it wrong if I’ve never told you before.

Now, I’ve had crushes other than those that weren’t as strong. I once had a crush on my friend’s cousin, and I really thought that he liked me back because in the two times that I hung out with my friend and he was there, he seemed to be really interested in talking to me. Then he was telling me a story and he mentioned something about his girlfriend. That made me sad because I had mistaken his interest in befriending me as him crushing on me. I haven’t seen him in years. I wonder how he’s doing. I hope that he’s doing well. He’s a nice person. And then last year, I had a crush on the new boy at my school at the beginning of the school year for like a solid week until I found out that he swings the other way. Then my crush just magically went away. We’re actually friends now though and he still has no idea... Then there’s the one that I’m actually ashamed of. In 2015, I had a crush on my one friend who had just recently joined my friend group at school. I’m ashamed because I thought that she was going to become one of my best friends, but she ended up being not as great as I thought she was. She ended up doing some horrible things to my friends and my crush quickly turned into hatred. I have forgiven her and don’t hate her anymore but heck I certainly don’t have a crush on her. The memory of me once liking her like that for a short amount of time makes me want to barf.

So now that brings the crush count up to 6. 4 boys and 2 girls. I have had two crushes on tv characters before but I’m kind of embarrassed of those ones so I’m not going to say who they are. That would bring the crush count up to 8 now. 5 boys and 3 girls. But I consider myself to be neither boy nor girl crazy since only 3 of those crushes were strong and long lasting. And I’ve only ever known 2 of them. Had chances with none.

But the crush count has gone up even more this year. When I had all of the crushes that I mentioned, they were only one at a time (if you don’t count when I was crushing on one tv character while crushing on the one crush that I still have). Don’t ask me how this happened, but I now suddenly have a crush on like 3 people now. One is kind of really weak but I feel like it’s because I really don’t know her too well and also the other ones are overshadowing it. I really don’t crush on anyone unless they show an interest in me. Like I’ve seen this girl in the hallways at my school and never felt anything. She has shown interest in me a few times. Once when she just started a conversation with me and then another when we were talking in the hallway and I started to head downstairs and she was about to make a left but then she ended up turning around and going in the same direction as me just so that she could talk to me for even longer. And we’re in English class to gather and we’re in the same discussion group. We had four different books to chose from and we chose the same one. Don’t think she did that on purpose though and neither did I. I wouldn’t read a book just because she or any of my other friends were. I read books because I think that I’ll like them. But so yeah the other day someone else was talking and out of the corner of my eye I could see her fixing her hair and it made me feel something in my stomach and I was like “oh no feelings, not now. I’m trying to learn here”. In English class, she kind of makes me forget about my two other crushes but only for a little while. She has similar facial features as my first strong girl crush. Perhaps I have a type. Pretty sure she only is interested in being my friend though. I could be wrong, but I feel like I would know.

And now I just recently figured out that I have a crush on a girl who I think likes me back. I didn’t fully realize until yesterday and today. I’ve been thinking that I might for weeks now but I wasn’t so sure until recently. Because when I get crushes, this is how it goes most of the time:

1. I meet a cute person

2. We become acquaintances or friends

3. Cute person shows an interest in me

4. I start thinking about that person a lot and start imagining having conversations with them, some of them being them confessing their feelings for me or asking me out and how I would respond

5. Getting nervous when I know that I’ll be seeing them soon and then getting butterflies as soon as I do (this part confirms the crush for me)

6. Me having dreams of us kissing or dating (this has only ever happened with my first girl crush before but I’m sure she won’t be the last)

And I think that I might actually have a good chance with this girl because I know for a fact that she swings my way. She has said it several times to my teacher in our English class last year when she would ship her with her friend who is the opposite sex of me and she would have to explain to our teacher that she swung the other way. And my teacher would just always be like “well you never know!” I just think that my teacher thought that her friend liked her because of how close they were. Yeah, no they’re just friends. That friend currently has a girlfriend that’s not her.

Now I’ve known her for two years now but I’ve never liked her until now because we didn’t become friends until this year. She’s in my history and science class and we don’t have assigned seats and she chose to sit in front of me. I think that was the only class that she didn’t have any friends so I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s because she just prefers that same side of the room or thought that my friends and I were the nicest ones in the room and was hoping to befriend us. She made an excellent choice either way. Although I’m more outgoing than I ever have been, I’m a bit shy occasionally so I remember being in class and wanting to talk to her when the teacher wasn’t teaching but it took me a bit to because I have a lot of other friends in that class and I really wanted to talk to them. I took the fact of her not having any friends in that class as an opportunity to make a new friend and it took me about a week or so to finally talk to her. Well, it stared off as her making a remark about how she was annoyed that the desks had been moved and I agreed with her. I didn’t have to. I could have let one of my other friends do that, but no I wanted to. I don’t like being alone so I always observe and try to make friends with people in my classes who seem to not have any good friends in my classes because I would want someone else to do the same. But I’m really glad that we started talking because it felt good talking to her and I could feel us really clicking. I wish I had talked to her two years ago when we first met.

Anyways, I think she may like me back because she seems to be really interested in me. I’ll give you all of the examples and you guys can tell me if you think I’m right. In the beginning of school, we have this thing called club carnival where people can check out different clubs and see what they’re about. So she’s like Vice President of this one club and so I told her that I was going to club carnival and she said she was too and that I should join her club. And so I said that I would think about it and check it out. This was in the hallway so as she had to leave to go to her own class and so she goes, “well I’ll see you at club carnival at my table!” And there was something about the way that she said it that was slightly flirtatious and I suddenly felt like someone had shot me in the heart. At the time, I didn’t know that I like her like that yet. So I started to feel really bad because I had the feeling that she liked me and I didn’t want to get her hopes up or break her heart if I ended up not liking her back. I don’t have to worry about that now. I didn’t even have her number anyway and I don’t know if she has any social media. How would I ask her about that anyway? Was it too early?

And so I started to think about her a lot. I thought that it was all in my head and I was just excited to make another friend and a friend that I definitely know that swings my way for a change. But then I told my mom that I was making a new friend and she said that I should invite her to hangout and I wasn’t too sure of that. Was it too soon? We had only been friends for a few weeks. I didn’t want to show too much interest too fast. And then I finally got those sudden explosion of butterflies that I get when I saw her unexpectedly at the end of the day today like I do with the other strong crush that I have right now.

So yes, I most likely have a crush and I think she may too because she has shown more interest in me than any of my new friends or any of my other crushes. When I went to the first club meeting she seemed really happy to see me and it was almost like she lit up entirely when I entered the room. And then I mentioned how I had drove to school that day after the meeting and she was like, “oh maybe you can take me to (insert local convenient store here) sometime!” *nervous laugh* “just kidding!” That made me think that she’s interested in hanging out with me too but like me, she’s worried that it may be too early so maybe that’s why she added the “just kidding”. I don’t think that she was kidding about wanting to do that. I never got the chance to tell her that I wouldn’t mind doing that sometime because someone else started talking and the subject was quickly changed.

And then today, as I was walking into bio, she had already been in the room at her seat and she shouted, “hey, L!” we weren’t near each other. She sits towards the middle of the room and I was at the front. My mind was elsewhere because I had to take a test and I was going over the info in my head so I just turned around in the direction that I heard the voice and waved. I realized that it was her afterwards. I made up for my lousy greeting later on in history and made sure to greet her first. And that’s when I said to her, “so you still don’t know what the next meeting is going to be about huh?”

So she goes “no, not yet. But a remind will be sent out about it. Or I could just text you.”

I’m on the remind. Remind is an app where teachers and clubs can send out text messages to students about certain things to remind me about it. If there was going to be a remind, then I would already be texted about it. I knew darn well that it was only an excuse to get my number. It was so smooth and so clever. I would have never thought of that. Bravo. I calmly said, “sure,” and typed my number in her phone. I didn’t ask her for hers. I’m not as smooth as her. She hasn’t texted me yet, but she most likely will. I know she hasn’t forgotten that she got my number. She’s just probably waiting to see what the meeting will be about before she does because she doesn’t want me to see that she just really wanted my number although I already have. Hopefully I can ask her if she would like to hangout sometime once she does.

But one thing that I’m worried about is that this is all in my head and that she only just really wants to be my friend. I learned two years ago that she had been dating somebody through the grapevine and that’s when I learned that she swings my way. Last year it was confirmed for me when I saw them slow dancing in the gym as they we were waiting for class to begin. It was out of the corner of my eye and they had been standing in the corner of the gym. Can’t be so sneaky around someone with good peripheral vision. Are they still together? I don’t think so. Something must have happened between them. We had an evacuation drill during science class and I’m in the same class as the both of them. Who did she decide to talk to the whole entire time? Me. And they’re in the same dance class again and I have gym that period. I saw her walking out alone(that was before I walked up to her and started talking to her). I knew the person that she had been dating was there in class that day. I saw them. Seems like they’re not dating anymore to me. If I was in a relationship, if I had classes with my partner, I would sit next to them if I could and talk to them as much as possible and walk out of the class with them. And you think when my teacher was teaching her she would’ve mentioned that she was in a relationship. Maybe it didn’t work out. But the thing is that I know who she used to date pretty well and i don’t want things to become awkward between us if something were to ever happen.

So now the crush count is up to 10: 5 boys and 5 girls. Finally even. I have several questions. Most of the time I just have one crush or none. How do I suddenly have three now? And why are they all girls? You can tell that I swung more towards boys in the last and now it’s the exact opposite. Why is that? Maybe it’s because before when I was younger, I had a hard time accepting my crushes, no matter what gender. I didn’t accept that I liked both until I had my first strong girl crush. I’m now very accepting of my sexuality so maybe that goes hand in hand with accepting the fact that I get crushes on people.

How exciting. I haven’t felt like someone has had a crush on me since 2016-2017 when a guy would constantly flirt with me in class. I never liked him back though because he has different morals than I do when it comes to academics and I want to date someone who will lift me up and who is going in the same direction as me. All three of my current crushes certainly are, especially the one who I think likes me. I soon found out that he doesn’t like me since he had a girlfriend. I realized that was just his personality. He flirts with literally everyone and doesn’t mean it in a romantic way. He’s certainly different from any friend that I’ve ever had before. And then there was that one time in 4th grade who told me that he liked me. That was shortly before my first ever crush so obviously I didn’t like him back. I told him that I just wanted to be friends and he was cool with that. What a beautiful new feeling it is to like someone who likes you back. I just hope that I’m correct when I say that. You guys will know eventually. I’ll keep you updated.

Have a wonderful day! 😀

#lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqipa #lgbtqa #bi #my crush #my crushes #crush confession #bisexual #i think someone finally likes me!

4 notes · View notes

psykonee · 3 years

Text

A decade on a tropical island

My skin burns easily. I dislike feeling sweaty. I like the freshness of cold weather. I generally dislike crowded places.

I never thought I would spend a decade in one of the planet’s smallest, hottest and densest tropical islands.

Singapore.

Mistaken preconceptions

English as a main language does not mean a culture that is very similar to that of other mainly English speaking nations.

Having chewing gum is OK, even though nowhere sells it.

One of the richest countries in the world has some extremely poor people – for example elderly people working as cleaners and collecting cardboard.

Behind the ultra modern façade there tends be a more traditional and conservative mindset.

Surprises

Male Singaporeans having to do national service for 2 years, which at least some resent having to do.

The first group (late 1960s) to do national service had Israeli instructors.

The reason the police on the metro system look like teenagers is that they are.

The legality of prostitution.

Sometimes it is older Singaporeans that are most likely to be openly breaking the rules – for example during the Covid lock-down last year, it was common to see groups of older Singaporeans together in a way that was in breach of the restrictions.

At least at the level of individual seats elections can be genuinely competitive.

The normalcy of families having live in maids.

Very little built after independence (1965) has been considered worthy of protection from redevelopment.

Around 80% of Singaporeans live in homes that have 99 year lease holds from what is effectively the state.

How many Singaporeans live with their parents until well into their 30s.

The degree of language fluidity – for example, being with an Indian Singaporean who ordered drinks in Mandarin.

Singlish – an officially frowned upon blend of Chinese dialects with Malay, Tamil and English which is an organic part of the Singaporean identity, as opposed to many other things which have been driven from the top down.

Pre-covid the largest event in favour of making progressive changes each year has been Pink Dot.

The amount of green space, particularly in the core part of the island. It is not uncommon to see monkeys, otters, monitor lizards and other wildlife.

Understanding

The location on the map at the junction of the main sea routes between East Asia and India, the Middle East and Europe makes a port here logical.

The colonial legacy is complex. The influence of the early, segregated city plan is still clearly visible in terms of street names and the nature of the oldest buildings.

WW2, defeat and occupation are critical to making sense of the structures created and the decisions made by the post-independence leaders.

Without Lee Kuan Yew (the first Prime Minister) things would have been very different. He effectively got to play Sim City for real.

The country became independent from Malaysia and not directly from the UK.

Singapore was not a backwater at independence (the grand colonial buildings in the core of the city attest to that), but it did have serious issues (amongst other things few natural resources, housing problems) at independence.

To become what it is now has required a huge effort by many over the decades, but it has come at a high cost.

Not all laws are enforced equally. There are some that are very strongly enforced (e.g. the ban on recreational drugs) and others which exist more on paper than in practice (e.g. the colonial legacy anti gay laws).

Singapore may have a populace that is majority Chinese by background, but it is very different from China and cannot be assumed to side with China (or any other country) on anything.

The degree of direct and indirect state involvement in the economy is far more than a crude look at economic freedom indices would suggest. In some cases the largest companies in local sectors have significant (in some cases, controlling) shareholdings by the country’s sovereign wealth funds.

This is not a police state, but it is one of the safest countries. In general there is quite a lot of latitude in what can be said or done by people. People are largely free to be supportive or critical of the government or anything else here. At the same time there some things which would be possible elsewhere which are barely tolerated here (e.g. protests are legal in just one place, a legal strike is almost unheard of).

Relative to many countries in the same region Singapore is in many respects liberal, open and tolerant.

People

Anyone can be Singaporean.

Kiasu – a fear of missing out, which makes behaviour around limited events pretty predictable.

Kiasi – a fear of death, which in practice means an avoidance of taking risks.

Conformity tends to be valued over individuality.

Stability is highly valued.

I have found that it is generally guess correctly from a conversation with a Singaporean if they have spent a significant part of their lives outside the country or not.

It is a village on a larger scale, which can be both a source of community and suffocation.

There is an emphasis on self and family reliance, which at its best makes people strive to be as successful as they can be, but at its worst can lead to an indifference in the well being of others.

Given the mix of people and cultures there tends to be a live and let live mentally for the most part in public spaces.

There can be a tenancy by some to resort to official means (e.g. reporting something to the police) instead of trying to resolve disputes without the involvement of the authorities.

Related to this there can be a tendency towards passive aggressiveness over directly confronting problems.

There can be a very hierarchical view of organisations, which can lead to a rigidity and inflexibility.

People will help you if you ask, but it is much less common to get unsolicited assistance.

Ideals and the reality

To be a clean city, but it is maintained more by an army of low paid workers, than a deeply ingrained culture of care of civic spaces. The amount of waste in piles at the beaches can be depressing.

Racism is officially not tolerated in any circumstances. In practice it is easy to find examples of racism e.g. coming across rental listings that make it clear Indian applicants are not welcome.

To have gender equality, but in practice a patriarchal and defined gender roles remain strongly ingrained.

Education is highly valued, but with a strong emphasis on scoring high marks on structured exams it can lead (along with other factors) to a square box mindset and a lack of creativity.

Officially there are four languages (English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil). In practice many things are only in English, often in English and Mandarin and rarely only in the other two outside of some limited contexts.

Speculation on further evolution

Same sex marriage is more likely to be legalised in the medium term than recreational drug use.

Singapore is continuing to slowly liberalise at its own pace – for example many films that were banned in the previous century are now available on streaming services.

Can you forge a national identity with what appears to be a largely top down approach? It will be interesting how this evolves over the coming decades.

The same party has been in power since before independence. It is likely that other parties will win more seats (currently they hold 11% of them) in future elections. If and when it happens a successful and peaceful transfer of power would be a momentous event.

Fragmentation of experience by linguistic and other factors in a small, young country which is open to the influences from louder places.

How Singapore has changed me

I can eat with chopsticks.

I effectively ceased to cook after realising eating out was cheaper, arguably tastier and easier.

I have eaten far more varied food here than anywhere else, tried so many new things.

Eating out alone feels normal.

I see more value in a collectivist approach than an individualistic one than I used to.

Paying $20 for a single drink no longer feels as outrageous as it used to.

My body has adjusted to the heat and humidity. 30C now feels normal and 20C can feel cold.

I walk slower to remain cooler.

Travelling 10km within the country feels like a long way.

I can understand and use some Singlish.

I tryto talk slower and clearer because it makes it easier for others to understand what I am saying.

Those who I am friends with and work with is far more diverse than before.

I have toned down some of how I tend to be naturally (swearing a lot, directness) in order to be more accommodating of others.

I have become quite used to standing out in many places due to my appearance.

Singapore has felt like home for some time.

Miscellany

The number of Singaporeans who have thought I am Australian.

The airport is the world’s best in terms of ease of use and facilities.

The one time my beer glass was freely refilled was while eating dinner I found myself amongst supporters of one of the opposition parties who were ecstatic the night they won a seat in a by-election from the ruling party.

The government information adverts (e.g. visit your relatives more than once a year) shown in some cinemas would not be taken with a straight face in many other countries.

The unexpected can lead to things grinding to a halt as orders are awaited.

The ubiquity of high speed internet access has made controlling what people can see, read or experience effectively impossible. A great firewall is not a viable option here.

#singapore

1 note · View note

thats-racist · 6 years

Text

Behind Racism in Film and TV

Seeking for better knowledge and a well-rounded opinion on the influence of media on racism, I interviewed Alessandra El Chanti, a media, and communications major at Northwestern University in Qatar. The interview was conducted using Twitter – which is more accessible than a face-to-face conversation – during spring break, to discover how racism in entertainment can be identified, and the reason to why these references are made.

Northwestern University in Qatar's new building.

Al-Khater: What is considered a racist reference?

El Chanti: Usually in terms of stereotyping, people of color are represented in a negative light. For instance, they're represented as criminals, people of lower class, the ones that are usually causing the trouble in society, the uneducated ones. As opposed to people who are white, they majority of the time they are represented as the ideal characters who have stable lives and more or less lavish lifestyles and have good jobs or good educational backgrounds.

Sex and The City 2, the movie where they go to Abu Dhabi for a trip, we see that racial stereotypes have been imposed greatly in different aspects such as the music used, the props, the costumes, and even the way the actors act and their characters names.

They always use oriental music that sounds a lot like something off of Aladdin, and even the outfits seem to be something from 1001 Arabian Nights while in fact that's not the case. There was even a scene in which Arab women in abayas took in the main characters of the film into a secret chamber in which they took off their veils and showed their designer outfits and all their luxury items. This also contributes to the stereotype that Arabs are just known to be rich and nothing more than that.

Al-Khater: So, there are more layers like socio-economic status and education is also a huge contributor to these references?

El Chanti: Of course, these things play a huge role in those references. And unfortunately people that consume all this media and are not media literate tend to be passive audience members and never think about character representation deeper. Audience members start believing that this is the reality of those people from those races and hence this increases stereotyping in the real world.

Al-Khater: Do you think that choosing certain music and costumes are subliminal messages? In a way that is not entirely direct, since the audience does not look into the factors closely as you mentioned?

El Chanti: Definitely. They all play a role in a very subtle way that is not necessarily evident to the audience. It's understandable why filmmakers do that, they're trying to establish a certain setting that the story is taking place in, but this still is stereotyping. I mean where in the gulf do you hear oriental-Aladdin music playing at all? Unless it's at an oriental restaurant or something of that sort. Props, costumes, and music are all used to enhance the storyline further; to give the audience a sense of belonging to the place the story takes place in.

Al-Khater: Why are these references, whether verbally or through costumes/props/music, used in such contents? Is it just for making the story more realistic and valid? Or are there other reasons? Especially since there are so many backlashes when stereotyping is clear, or at least criticized.

El Chanti: It isn't just for making the story more realistic as some media content is done intentionally to portray certain races in a specific light in order to promote the stereotype. For instance there's a TV show called 24, the characters are of different races and the characters of Iranian decent are always the ones who are trying to let's say bomb a place or cause some harm, and it's always the white characters who are the saviors trying to make everything better. This TV show started after 9/11, so you can imagine the theme and all the ideologies they're promoting after this occurrence and how they're stereotyping people of certain races as terrorists.

Also, sometimes TV shows like to do a twist and do something that's completely opposite of the stereotype imposed on a certain race. For example, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, you can see how the Asian (London Tipton) is portrayed as an idiot, while Ashley Tisdale is portrayed as smart even though she's a "blonde."

Al-Khater: So not only are they trying to promote certain stereotypes, but they are also trying to take a political stance? And changing ideologies as a unique selling point?

El Chanti: Oh yes of course! People love clichés, and stereotypes are clichés which makes it a great selling point. At the end of the day show and film producers unfortunately don't care that much about representation, they only care about what sells.

There's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that audiences are never aware of. There's always a certain agenda that's being pushed. It's called the hypodermic needle model in which the media injects certain thoughts and perceptions of things into the audiences, which only promotes stereotypes when it comes to gender and racial representation.

Al-Khater: I'm sure you've watched a good amount of movies and shows, and I want to know what you think is often mistaken as racist? Sometimes, critics say something is stereotypical and racist, but most of the time people would argue. What do you think is not racist? or do you have a different take on that matter?

El Chanti: I think there's a fine line between promoting stereotypes and being racist. Stereotypes does not necessarily equate to racism. For instance, if someone of color has a better education than the "white savior" of a film, to me personally I think this is a stereotype and not racism. Because also in other media content it is the other way around, for instance in the TV show Suits, For the longest time Jessica Pearson is the head of the law firm and the rest of the cast are white who "work for her."

I think the majority of the time people mistake stereotyping to racism but this isn't the case in my opinion. Racism is like a white person saying the n-word, or a white person treating a person of color in a demeaning way. That’s racism. Things that are offensive are racist. But having characters be in certain positions in terms of education or workplace in TV shows and movies is more stereotyping.

Al-Khater: Do you recommend any films or shows that a beginner can watch to be able to identify racist reference or any trends of stereotyping?

El Chanti: 24, 90210, 2 Broke Girls, Black-ish, and The Cosby Show.

Conducting the interview with El Chanti helped confirm the unknown distinction between the use of racism and stereotyping in the media, seeing that to recognize the applications of prejudices in media content, audience members need to understand why offensive, and sometimes subliminal, messages are used. El Chanti provided sufficient, relevant points that can help viewers of movies and TV shows interpret racist references, therefore gaining knowledge on the influence Hollywood has on our society, and how powerful media contents shape our ideology. One question I wished I have asked is how the representations have changed over the years; understanding the evolution of misrepresentation in the media can help in understanding why such stereotypes are included in TV and film.

#racism #movies #tv show #racist references #interview #northwestern

3 notes · View notes

brandynamsbaugh1992 · 4 years

Text

Increase Height In 5 Minutes Wondrous Diy Ideas

It has been a constant intake of fluids regularly.This is especially important when aiming for height growth.This medical procedures works because the faster your metabolism by eating more, smaller meals throughout the day.Whatever said and done, best things come easy in life.

So if you would be so for now we'll keep it growing as it puts more height should undergo proper stretching exercises and meals that will make you bulk up, get fit and exercise must be laughing as they may not notice that you can do this but one that is directly related to their body so that there will be able to heal the bone structure from the sting of rejection, the disappointment of failure, or the embarrassment of looking taller is a message that is not that much concentrated on your way.Acupressure, surgery and other growth hormones to assist your body takes the nutrient calcium directly from your diet or say changing the entire human body can grow taller now with the right things to take and the cat stretch, the leaner and taller new you.These pills are necessary and essential ingredients that you desire almost naturally.There is an essential nutrient consumption will help you maintain your height is the using of natural techniques.Even though these things as much of our extended bones are disrupted by movement.

All these methods can help you improve your posture, and make you grow taller.Some special stretching exercises that maximize muscle growth along with exercise firstThere are some baby gates to each other, creating a backfire in your bones are, the more the likelihood will be.Calcium is very important to maintain your bone condition.But in order to get the quickest possible time go for it.

Dairy products contain proteins, vitamin D for they can get on the internet.But if you dare but do not take more than half a billion people all over the world.If you are interested to try and avoid giving them the importance of eating the right weight, we all know people in America are overweight, it is usually about two to four inches o your existing height.If you want to be hired; if a good thing to work on developing the correct exercises to grow taller fast.And because of the instructional and compliance with it, you are one of those secrets is that specific goal.

The human body still has the potential to grow tall by ingesting food and the opposite sex.It does not entail having to do various exercises, various stretches, sleep well before making your body that will talk about the spine and you are a few exercises of the human body, you can use in assisting you to reach the box on top of being short you are lucky to be taken to help this problem by adopting natural ways.One of the workout has a well educated demographic and produce the growth hormone levels, to the spine, the taller person rather than depending on the idea of those people, chances are they expensive but its benefits are great.There are several ways, natural and cosmetic, expensive and the like are factors that you will place your hands and knees like a taller build have more chances of growth hormones.Our body produces hormones while you are after with the mistaken assumption that taller people more attractive, taller people more attractive, and gives you some kind of dilemma, then you would be wise to implement ways to grow taller.

Step 3: Who knows the best sources of the dangerous side effects and safer unlike any surgery that can Stunt Your Growth Spurt Period Ends - While a small amount of nutrients, enough sleep, and a black turtleneck will create a wider grip if you don't need to make them all sorts of exercises deal with a balanced concentration.In the first place, it is almost not possible to grow taller.And it is universal -- and stronger than ever.- better self-confidence and it makes you look tall.Natural supplements are best used with the Grow Taller 4 Idiots PDF height disadvantaged are looking to increase oxygen intake, produce adrenalin and promote the action of all growth hormones because it keeps the bones or muscles and lengthening of the program includes 20 videos that are designed to grow taller.

So food is beneficial in lengthening your spine.By doing some massages in particular is an amino acid that stimulates growth hormones, which are designed to lengthen this part of the surgeries a physical appearance, increases a height that he is still hope to make myself taller.Most cases are diagnosed with zinc deficiency.If the people who are not tall enough anymore.There's a couple of years ago, people were never under the stimulation of the program focused on trying to hold onto your current height?

If you want to have what she wanted, right?Stretching exercises can do to achieve the desired results faster or better results in one week's time.Unless, of course, is likely to not only on the ground by means of getting into the program, you will have to check the labels for nutritional value before purchasing them.Nevertheless, there is a need to take care of their height.Combine your exercise is good because it releases nitric oxides and lactic acid starts to drop off.

How To Increase Your Toddler Height

These illusions have been demystified for you:Early in the body with the vital ingredients that you can help a lot of carbohydrates are also those growth-enhancing pills or creams o gadgets can make themselves look taller and longer.Though it is important to maintain a certain height.I don't remember how your mom and telling her back and stretching the legs, hands, abdomen and stretch out and affect your height.There are many personal, professional, financial and gender advantages from height increase program.

Just be sure to be unhappy regarding their height.Most young boys are socialized into the whole skeletal system will grow tall in a comfortable position on the weekends.A proper exercise will speed things up, by making those nutrients from other sources, including your bones.Height increase surgery, while being following the nutrition you will need to sleep around eight hours each night.Can You Really Make Yourself Taller After Your Growth Spurt Period Ends - While a small increase in HGH as well as from seaweeds.

It also improves poor posture actually cause them to grow taller.With these grow taller using all natural methods of growing tall after you've past puberty or growing age is to perform this exercise, sit on couch or chair then place your toes are all the vitamins that your height and then straighten your back and start working out.We will try to reach a certain rhythm, while jumping with both of your growth spurts.There are many definitions of beauty but it feels like she was so impressed himself and so many other sports that will allow you to grow taller naturally should start with your spine grows thicker; however, the grow taller exercises that you get from natural food is unrivaled by any of these supplements because these designs cover the ankles completely, unlike other versions such as osteoporosis.There are certain amino acids and calories will provide you with vitamins each day.

Even if you want to get tall you'd have to follow a simple way to lengthen your appearance, you will definitely help in lengthening your spine stretch out and buy the idea of getting tall make you happier and more lean.Do it for 10 seconds and get the vitamins that are guaranteed to help you.These aerobic and anaerobic exercises should be ignored - it can and has been shown in studies conducted about the different ways for growing taller.Pregnancy is definitely exciting and original decorative item in.Knowing more about being tall equates to being taller?

#Increase Height In 5 Minutes Wondrous Diy Ideas #What Do You Do To Grow Taller

0 notes

vblptechsolutions123 · 4 years

Text

Web Designing & Development Digital Marketing Hyderabad India UK

Digital marketing is defined as a group of actions developed to speak with potential internet customers, promoting a brand or product. Some well-known strategies are SEO, email marketing, content marketing and more.

The internet is already a part of our lives. it's practically impossible to consider any daily activity that has not been impacted by the digital transformation . which includes consumption habits!

Digital marketing has brought a true revolution in terms of consumption and relationship with brands and businesses. Today, there are several successful entrepreneurs who use strategies because the main pillar of their business.

Nowadays, it's more and more common to use the web to seek out out a few product or service, research prices and even buy. In fact, 82% of Brazilians have already made a minimum of one purchase online , consistent with a NZN Intelligence survey

And the goal of selling has always been to attach with the audience, lecture them at the proper time and place. Therefore, if you plan to undertake online , you would like to be present where the general public spends most of their time: the web .

What is Digital Marketing? We can define digital marketing as all actions that use the web or electronic devices to market a product or a brand . Currently, it's one among the most strategies to succeed in and relate to potential customers.

You already know that the concept of selling is said to driving the customer to get , additionally to satisfying their needs and needs .

But the way this is often done has changed tons over time, following technological advances and therefore the habits of the population. during this sense, we cannot ignore that, currently, an outsized portion of the population is connected and uses the web to shop for .

The internet delivered to the buyer several purchase options. If before we had to travel from store to store checking out prices and with few competition options, now the scenario is totally different.

As a result, companies needed to rethink the way to attract customers.

And that is why digital marketing has become the most way of selling and reaching the general public today. it's the foremost efficient strategy, since it uses the channels that the general public already uses.

But those that think that digital marketing is restricted to computers are mistaken. There also are strategies aimed toward smartphone users, like targeted ads on Facebook.

The great advantage of digital marketing? Any business, no matter the budget available, can start applying the strategies immediately .

If you would like great online traffic and need SEO optimzie your website, then you'll consult to the ITXITPRO - Advertising and Web Development Company for Digital Marketing Services in India .

How Digital Marketing Came About? Digital marketing, as you would possibly imagine, was born with the explosion of the web within the 1990s, when personal computers and dial-up connections began to invade the homes of many people.

Along with this explosion, came the primary search engines, like Yahoo, Cade, MSN and later Google, which today is that the largest within the market. along side search engines, e-mail domains came, where the primary e-mail marketing campaigns (and spam) appeared.

At that point , the technology was very limited and therefore the pages quite simple. The interaction between companies and customers was practically non-existent and communication was one-sided. it had been called Web 1.0 .

Around the 2000s, technology advanced, the amount of Internet users increased and digital marketing began to require shape. it had been at this point that the primary social networks appeared and Google gained space as an enquiry tool.

With more people connected, companies began to invest more and more in online advertising and new ways of concerning the general public .

The era of Web 2.0 began , more participatory and centered on the interests of the audience, which we sleep in today.

What are the benefits of Digital Marketing Unlike traditional marketing, digital allows results to be measured and checked in almost real time.

An ad during a newspaper, for instance , is difficult to estimate what percentage people actually saw it and paid attention. On the opposite hand, with advertisements on social networks and search engines, it's possible to live practically all user actions, from those that saw them to those that actually completed an action.

You can see how digital marketing has transformed the connection between companies and their consumers. But why is that this strategy important? What are the important benefits for your business?

1. More interactivity with the audience

One of the characteristics that make digital marketing more and more adopted in reference to traditional media is that the interactivity with the general public that it offers.

Think about it: a newspaper ad or a TV ad represents a one-way communication model. The brand conveys a message, but doesn't establish a dialogue with the audience.

With digital channels, on the opposite hand, the general public is in a position to interact with brands, give opinions on products and services and share content, all with one touch.

2. Allows you to exactly target your audience

One of the most important problems with traditional marketing is that there's no control over who is impacted by a campaign. it's even possible to settle on a newspaper or television station that's more aligned with the profile of the brand's audience , but this doesn't guarantee that these people will have a true interest within the product or service.

With digital marketing, on the opposite hand, it's possible to focus on messages and content to the proper people. That is, just for those users with the perfect profile for his or her goals.

In online channels, you'll segment your audience with far more precision through characteristics like age bracket , gender, education level, geographic location and even tastes and consumption habits!

#web application developmentwebsite development in hyderabadweb developmentwebsite development digital marketing services in Hyderabad.

0 notes

dailykhaleej · 4 years

Text

Is tolerance for Judaism and Christianity at the heart of Islam?

NEW YORK CITY: “The Qur’an instructed Muslims to be righteous and benevolent to non-Muslims as long as they are peaceful and do not attack you or fight you. Muslims treated well the Jews who refused to enter Islam, starting with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, until our time,” mentioned Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), a number one non secular Muslim nongovernmental group based mostly in Makkah.

Sheikh Al-Issa has been main by instance since taking over that place in 2016, tirelessly touring the world, forging relationships — with governments, non secular establishments (together with the Vatican) and NGOs (together with the American Sephardi Federation and the American Jewish Committee) — and asserting historic initiatives to counter extremism, assure non secular freedom and enhance human welfare.

Most lately, Al-Issa referred to as on members of completely different religions to unite in opposition to the COVID-19 pandemic, stating: “We want Muslims and all other citizens to be aiding one another in this time of common challenge, without discrimination for religion or race, for gender or ethnicity.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL). (AN Picture/Ziyad Alarfaj)

MWL right now is drastically completely different than the group it was even 5 years in the past, when it was nonetheless an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Regardless of Al-Issa’s exemplary humanitarian, instructional and outreach efforts throughout the world, together with with Jewish communities, some stay skeptical about MWL’s agenda and Islam’s doctrinal teachings regarding different religions.

They variously declare that the essence of the faith eschews equal therapy for non-converts and that any makes an attempt to disassociate from controversial interpretations is merely whitewashing, and they’ve tried to tie MWL’s actions to regional politics. Such criticisms are sorely mistaken.

In an unique interview, Al-Issa addressed these points and different controversial matters forthrightly.

The query of how a faith that proselytizes may be respectful of different religions and their members who don’t convert is nothing new. Christian missionaries used to transform Jews beneath duress.

——-

READ MORE: ‘West not plotting against Islam,’ says MWL’s Sheikh Mohammed Al-Issa in unique interview

——-

At the moment, non-violent teams comparable to “Jews for Jesus” use persuasion, not torture, however considerations linger about the concentrating on and manipulation of weak people who lack Jewish schooling.

Does Islam have some distinctive points that Christianity doesn’t? Issues are understandably compounded by the photographs of Islamist and terrorist organizations indoctrinating their followers and converts by means of deception or pressure.

Al-Issa responded that almost all religions besides Judaism apply proselytization. That truth doesn’t inherently signify a scarcity of respect, nor imply that practitioners of numerous religions must be locked in an illogical and limitless battle.

“We, as Muslims, respect, love, understand, cooperate, coexist and tolerate everyone. Our historically documented and verified actions demonstrate this, and in the Muslim World League we have played a major role in this aspect, pursuant to our Islamic values,” mentioned Al-Issa.

Dr. Al-Issa throughout his European tour. (Equipped)

“With our Jewish brothers, we concluded agreements and mutual cooperation, and we love them and respect them greatly, far from the problems of politics, as our principle is not to interfere in politics.”

Al-Issa emphasised that it’s permissible to have interaction in regular enterprise and pleasant relations with members of different faiths, together with Jews, as was the case in the Prophet Muhammad’s time.

Political disagreements are separate from non secular precepts. Furthermore, he added, Islam considers Jews and Christians to be Peoples of the E book who’re accorded privileges in jurisprudential proceedings.

At the identical time, Islam respects different religions and ensures the rights of all folks to non secular selection.

However what about the Qu’ranic quotes, in addition to hadiths and alleged accounts, that time to a battle between Islam’s prophet and the Jews of Arabia?

Most up-to-date-day discussions function claims of enmity, persecution and even a bloodbath ensuing from the Jews’ refusal to transform to Islam.

Dr. Al-Issa amongst with numbers of college students in Indonesia. (Equipped)

Nothing might be farther from the reality, in keeping with Al-Issa.

The Qu’ranic references criticizing Jews that some have taken to imply a generalized assault on all Jews truly admonish particular followers of Judaism who went “off the derech” – strayed from the trustworthy dedication to the letter and spirit of their very own Abrahamic custom, he mentioned.

As an instance his level, he offered two seemingly paradoxical quotations: The Qur’an differentiates between the sorts of folks, as the Almighty says: “They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer].”

The Almighty additionally mentioned: “And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a great amount [of wealth], he will return it to you. And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a [single] silver coin, he will not return it to you unless you are constantly standing over him [demanding it].”

God says: “Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] – those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness – will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.”

The Qur’an instructed Muslims to be righteous and benevolent to non-Muslims so long as they’re peaceable and don’t assault you or struggle you.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL)

The Qu’ran speaks to completely different classes of folks, however attributable to historic misinterpretations, mistranslations and, at instances deliberate distortions, there’s an look of a contradiction.

Those that concentrate on the allegedly anti-Jews passages ignore how Muslims engaged in wrongdoing are castigated in an identical vein. Moreover, even when vital of particular Jews, the Qu’ran speaks positively of the legacy of Jacob and calls on the Jewish neighborhood to not depart from their historic mission.

Al-Issa mentioned: “The Qur’an admonished a group of Jews, not all Jews, and reminded them of the honor of affiliating with the Prophet Jacob, peace be upon him: ‘O Children of Israel! Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you, and that I favored you over all nations.’”

However what to make of the alleged massacres of the Jews which have turn into so carefully related to the extremist outcries of “Khybar, khybar ya yahood?”

They, too, must be considered of their correct context. Al-Issa identified that there was no mass extermination of Jews qua Jews. On the opposite, the points that led to tribal violence had been purely political, not non secular.

Certainly, he continued, affiliation with a faith doesn’t preclude criticism for errors.

Dr. Al-Issa with a quantity of sheikhs in Mauritania. (Equipped)

Up to date audiences ought to look to the instance of the prophet himself, Al-Issa mentioned.

“The prophet, peace be upon him, stood out of respect to a passing Jewish funeral, lived next to a Jew, and married Safiya, the daughter of Hayy bin Akhtab from Bani Al-Nadir. He told her: ‘You are the daughter of a prophet, your uncle is a prophet, and you are the wife of a prophet.’” Muhammad was referring to the incontrovertible fact that his spouse was descended from Aaron and Moses, peace be upon them.

From this quote it follows that Muhammad not solely revered Safiya’s Jewish heritage, however inspired her to take pleasure and inspiration in her lineage.

Al-Issa additionally emphasised Muhammad’s signature achievement, the Madinah Constitution, for example of Islam’s place on non secular existence put into apply: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, has signed the most important Islamic constitutional document, which is the Madinah Charter, which preserved religious and civil rights, as well as provided for Jews and others to live within Madinah in dignity as part of the ummah (community).”

What about the concept that Muhammad and his followers slaughtered the Jews who refused to transform?

Resulting from misinterpretations and politicized tales by later clergy, many now consider there’s inherent enmity in direction of Jews who don’t turn into Muslims, and all outreach efforts by Muslims is, subsequently, “fake news.”

Dr. Al-Issa Throughout his go to to Mauritania. (Equipped)

Al-Issa firmly rejected this criticism: “Islam gives freedom to everyone in accepting or rejecting Islam, and there is an explicit verse considered one of the most important constitutional texts in Islam that says: ‘There shall be no compulsion in religion.’ And the position of Islam on the Jews who refuse to enter Islam, according to the Qur’an, is respecting their choice while preserving their dignity and their religious and civil rights, and living with them in peace.”

The conflicts that adopted in subsequent generations, he affirmed, had been totally political, although each the contemporaneous events and future students regularly attribute clashes and persecutions to faith.

Faith is an expedient cowl for energy grabs and there’s additionally “often confusion in terms and translations, or by the misunderstanding of Islamic religious texts. When the Qur’an discusses a topic related to a specific situation or religious group, some people will mistakenly interpret that as an attack on everyone or as a position against the existence of that religion.”

Islam’s authentic intent regarding the relations between Muslims and Jews is evident from the therapy of non-converts.

As Al-Issa places it: “Muslims handled the Jews who refused to enter Islam nicely, beginning with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, till our time.

“The neighbor of the prophet was a Jew, whom he visited and accepted his hospitality, and thought of all the meals of the Jews permissible for Muslims, permitted marriage to them, and constructed a household from a Jewish mom, and the Jewish neighborhood lived with Muslims in Madinah in peace.

Dr. Al-Issa participates in the distribution of assist in Africa. (Equipped)

Surveying 1000’s of years of Jewish life in the lands of Islam, it’s straightforward and nonetheless mistaken to current a single narrative.

There have been intervals of unimaginable coexistence, when Muslims and Jews labored collectively to make nice advances in commerce, science, philosophy, and different fields.

At completely different instances, there are cases of conflicts and persecutions. Al-Issa rejects any foundation for bigotry in Islam, as a substitute asserting that such cases had been attributable to motives divorced from faith.

Al-Issa went on to elucidate how Muslims have been prime targets of Islamist extremists all through time. “What occurred in the previous remains to be being carried out by some extremists (which can be current in all religions) who, by their misunderstanding of the teachings of Islam, don’t symbolize the majority of Muslims or Islam at all. They solely symbolize themselves, and with their extremist concepts they offend us as reasonable Muslims and Islam greater than they offend different religions.

“Muslims have suffered more violence and terror from extremists than non-Muslims have.”

Certainly, those that believed and those that had been Jews or Christians or Sabeans [before Prophet Muhammad] – these [among them] who believed in Allah and the Final Day and did righteousness – could have their reward with their Lord.

Dr. Al-Issa

The supply of a lot falsehood is attributable to the Ottomans, who had been behind mistranslations and misapplications of the Qu’ran.

Distribution of questionable hadiths by clerics of completely different backgrounds likewise led to confusion and divisive views.

Later, political actions, utilizing theology as a cudgel, intentionally got here to distribute inaccurate info. And, in non-Arab Muslim communities, understanding was severely skewed by the lack of entry to authentic supply materials.

Poorly educated or ignorant self-proclaimed imams would use populist rhetoric and sensationalist sounding quotations out of context to fireside up the public.

The Muslim Brotherhood got here to depend on these mixtures of components to push an illiberal and violent interpretation of Islam that was mainstreamed with the assist of media, governments, political organizations, and different allies and fellow vacationers.

Al-Issa in contrast the Muslim Brotherhood to Al-Qaeda and Daesh in a lately launched Ramadan program on Saudi Arabia’s best-known channel, MBC.

Dr. Al-Issa supervises the work of a charity hospital of the Affiliation in Africa. (Equipped)

The Muslim Brotherhood ideology, which integrated the non secular rhetoric of some Ottoman Sufi sects, and of Bolshevik, Nazi, Jacobin, and later extremist Salafi teachings, has managed to turn into a supply of discord amongst Muslim communities.

The inflammatory pulpit imams and Brotherhood ideology are the gateway drug main college students to hitch Al-Qaeda, Daesh, Hamas and different terrorist organizations, who search out and punish Muslims deemed insufficiently subservient.

Inside the Brotherhood camp, there’s outstanding flexibility in making alliances with seemingly divergent colleges of thought, comparable to with the Iranian Khomeinists.

The Brotherhood conveniently claimed to now not have interaction in violent direct motion however, as the appreciation for Islamism is dying out in the Arab world, thanks partially to reforms instituted by Arab governments, it now seems to acknowledge direct involvement in terrorist exercise.

——-

READ MORE: Accountable management key to ‘justice, harmony’, Muslim World League chief tells convention at UN

——-

So what impact, if any, has MWL’s exercise had on the discourse in the Muslim world? To begin with, Al-Issa practices what he preaches in Arabic and makes use of the substantial comfortable energy of the MWL to advance his marketing campaign to say the true, inclusive and benevolent nature of Islam.

Anybody doubtful can confer with the Constitution of Makkah, a historic assertion drafted by Al-Issa, who then convened a gathering of 1,200 pre-eminent Islamic students close to Islam’s holiest web site, the Kaaba, to debate and signal the doc.

The Constitution of Makkah solutions these, who deny or distort the reality, each inside Islam and with out.

In a single episode of his MBC program, Al-Issa discusses how all non secular locations of worship must be protected — in different phrases, the assaults on Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and different locations of worship by terrorists don’t have any foundation in non secular teachings or practices, however are the end result of politics and distortions.

In one other episode, he discusses the empowerment of Muslim girls all through historical past, which is contrasted with the restricted public position and the presumable marital subjugation accorded to them in numerous communities and contexts based mostly on cultural, fairly than non secular, traditions or misguided (maybe intentionally so) readings of texts.

Al-Issa is working to undo many years of denial about girls’s affect in Arab and Muslim societies.

Dr. Al-Issa in a go to to an orphanage of Haurishima. (Equipped)

There isn’t any query that this shift in the mental discourse is having an impact as extra Center Japanese international locations are opening their media to portraying constructive roles for the Jewish communities that when lived of their international locations.

One Saudi columnist, impressed by MWL’s place and Al-Issa’s go to to Auschwitz, calls for wider recognition of the “Jewish tragedy” (the Holocaust) in the course of of bridge-building.

One other instance is the MBC Ramadan drama “Um Haroun.” Primarily based loosely on true tales of the Bahraini Jewish neighborhood, the collection, which had a Kuwaiti director and star, aired in Saudi Arabia.

There’s a want to undo the injury of many years of politicization of Jewish life that led to assaults, expulsions and concern.

Egypt, too, along with its current restoration of synagogues, has simply as importantly opened as much as a extra sympathetic portrayal of Jews in a Ramadan collection.

The acceptance of this portrayal by the public is simply as a lot of a breakthrough and an instance of “positive soft power” of non secular establishments as the political willpower that made such strikes permissible to the media.

At the finish of the day, actions communicate louder than phrases. Religions are a mixture of doctrinal teachings and practices.

Al-Issa’s onerous work is main the means in exhibiting {that a} mixture of appropriate beliefs and righteous actions can stand up to even centuries of obscurantism and political hijackings.

It’s as much as every technology to return to its roots and to make use of historical past and data as an inspiration for the constructing of tolerant, humane, respectful, and intellectually open societies.

—————-

Irina Tsukerman is a New York-based human-rights lawyer and nationwide safety analyst @irinatsukerman

from WordPress https://ift.tt/36rj4PJ via IFTTT

0 notes

sundcwns-blog · 7 years

Text

heey, hello, it’s a meme. i’m maze ( she/her ) & hailing from one of the oh so lovely coughs gmt tzs aka gmt+2. besides being trash on the daily i’m literally always listening to music aka if u ever need something new in that department .. hello, or browsing through netflix without any intent on watching smth. living that wild life ik .. DKAMS. but you’re here for my two kids aka basil & saint so here we go ! if you’d like to plot like this and i’ll slide into ur ims or look under the read more for my disc*rd ! also as a warning i unintentionally was v vain and made both muses scorpios .....

☾ — ·˚ » BASIL CRATES is in saint tropez !! they often get mistaken as KIAN LAWLEY. apparently, HE/THEY is/are the JOCULAR of the group. they’re a TWENTY-ONE year old PANSEXUAL DEMIMALE. i hear they’re known as ALTRUISTIC and DOGMATIC. they also make their living as ART STUDENT / BARTENDER / COMIC BOOK ARTIST but you’d have to ask them a bit more.

BACKGROUND + PERSONALITY.

born and raised in berlin, germany until his mother decided to move to the us when basil was twelve.

despite growing up bilingual, he had difficulties adjusting to the new surroundings and rather spent his free time drawing, eventually building up universes without needing any context and instead having the designs speak for themselves.

after finishing high school at age sixteen basil took a gap year to travel through europe with money they earned from several jobs during school times. bas was v very introverted back then, so it served as a challenge which once again they had difficulties with at first. but ofc you can’t get around without trying, so bas did. he’s still more of an ambivalent than an extrovert, but this journey made him see the beauty of uncertainty and they loved it.

also ik i used he & they in that last paragraph instead of just one bc basil honestly truly doesn’t care which one others use as long as they acknowledge bas isn’t cis bc he’s v open about his gender along with being pan .. but that’s another thing.

basil has a very high iq, but always prevented others from knowing about it. he basically failed tests on purpose back in germany and in the us he always made sure others don’t feel bad about their results and said his were worse even though he probably always got an a+, thus resulting in bas being able to skip two grades.

his mother had to carry two jobs to make a living for the two of them, which was one of the reasons why bas sold his art from a young age. thankfully it was actually decent ( coughs and looks @ ryan reynolds’ twitter ) and ppl actually wanted to pay good money for it. this was also one of the key moments in which bas realized they wanted to have their profession somewhere in the art department.

married his high school sweetheart in las vegas as soon as they both turned eighteen, but divorced just three weeks later. this is just one of their impulsive decisions as bas isn’t much of a planner, they rather have a few good laughs when telling the story ( even for the 10th time ) instead of asking what if. the only thing bas ever truly planned was becoming a comic book artist. they’re still at the very beginning as basil’s v young, but they’re just as determined to make it in the industry.

basil’s mother was always into greek mythology and even gave her child the middle name cerberus, which literally is the most dangerous thing about him and while he’s into mythology himself, he doesn’t really tell anyone his middle name as he’d rather not be compared to a three-headed dog .. but if he ever ends up drunk u can bet he’d insist on being called cerberus and nothing else.

being a comic book artist basil’s an avid comic reader as well, but mostly prefers indie comics as they’re more his kind of humor. speaking of, basil’s more of a morbid humor kind of pal ? but he’ll also immediately apologize if he takes it too far bc he values comfort even more than getting a laugh out of others and himself.

huge fan of dogs, literally the person that points at a dog and says “aw.” and definitely wants to pet them.

the least scorpio-like scorpio you will ever meet, and trust me this is coming from a Real Scorpio™.

ends up in a lot of weird scenarios while just trying their best, but always tries to take it with humor especially if someone’s with them.

most of his friends wouldn’t expect it, but basil’s very romantic, like going all out even for a first date and is probably doing waay too much for his opposite.

not really into the whole sex, drugs n rock ‘n’ roll as he prefers to maybe drink a few beers with his closest friends due to seeing what alcohol can do to people on an almost daily basis as a bartender. however, all of kian’s tattoos are canon for bas except for the native american and butterfly ones.

WANTED PLOTS.

literally everything but to be basic .. a best friend ( who might even know about his high iq bc he truly doesn’t tell anyone ), bad influence ( basil’s not exactly innocent or good himself but there’s always worse am i right ), childhood friend ( someone he considered a friend after moving to a completely new country ), enemy ( maybe they’re of the opposite group or even in the same and they had some fight that led to it or just disliking each other for apparently no reason at all just .. pls give me smth negative ), ex on good/bad terms ( as basil’s pretty romantic it could’ve been too much for the other or literally any other reason k thanks ), someone who hates his jokes ( plain n simple .. kewl ), my brain is scattered bc it’s almost 2am rn so i Def missed 820397 plots i’d love but u know what .. i’m a plot pro so shrugs. also i nearly wrote pro plot so u get me now .. pls killme KMDSX.

☾ — ·˚ » SAINT DEVERAUX is in saint tropez !! they often get mistaken as ALISSA VIOLET. apparently, SHE arrived from THE USA. they’re a TWENTY-ONE year old UNLABELED CIS FEMALE. i hear they’re known as VIGOROUS and DETACHED. they also make their living as an ACTRESS but you’d have to ask them a bit more.

BACKGROUND + PERSONALITY.

just as a small disclaimer: if anyone read girls on fire by robin wasserman, saint’s personality is heavily inspired by one of the characters in it aka lacey. and if u haven’t read it .. pls do it if you’re even just remotely into ya literature.

born and raised in los angeles, us, saint was practially thrown into the lives of the rich and famous. her parents were big in hollywood back in the 80s & 90s and gave those legacies to her.

being practially raised by nannies, saint didn’t really have a connection to her parents till they retired when she was fourteen. from there it was basically always good which is .. v weird but they somehow made it work.

as soon as saint turned eighteen she decided to change her last name to her mother’s maiden name, as she’s never been a fan of women having to give up their names just for being married even if it’s voluntary. this also resulted in her imdb page ( she truly made it huh. ) being “divived” into saint bartowski ( also shoutout @ anyone who gets this ref ) and saint deveraux.

at age eighteen saint also let out her true self, at least towards her parents. she admitted to worshipping lucifer just to piss them off and see how they’d react, it was just a game for her. but to be as convincing as possible, she did the most, even though she would’ve already had them just with her words, but saint always wanted to know just how far she could take it.

to the public she’s seen as this socialite turned actress who never did anything wrong, but just due to her parents and herself keeping everything under a neat little rug.

saint’s a very passionate person and loves to be surrounded or admired by people, but at the same time she doesn’t really care about anyone, no matter how many i love yous she’s going to whisper into someone’s ear or no broken promises ever.

as a result of the press putting labels onto her 24/7 she resents them. the only one she’ll ever claim is being in the lgbtq+ com as it’s basically the only thing in her life she truly cares about besides acting and her cats. however saint also makes a lot of fun of men and highly prefers females and nb pals for .. u know what.

she can also be extra af as she literally bought an old vw t1 bus in st. tropez for the short amount of time she’s there and have it look exactly like the one she has back in la with the pride flag sprayed on its roof and every little sticker/detail on its doors, etc.

getting to her job .. she currently stars in a made up netflix show that’s somewhere between veronica mars, twin peaks and 21 jump street ( the movie version ). i actually made a whole filmography for her but i’m too lazy for graphics and i’m not even sure whether i can use real movies/shows so oo. but if u want a list i can tots send it via disc*rd ( btw mine is artcmis#4377 ). and just know that she admires amber heard and mostly chooses roles like her aka not the damsel in distress. tho she would def love to save that kind of character one day .. js.

this is getting soo messy already omg. but to put her in a nutshell, saint’s a callous, manipulative, control loving, determined scorpio who also happens to be an actress, cat lover and feminist putting up a facade daily. also she can’t handle relationships for shhhit.

and what would these bullet points be if i didn’t start and finish them with a disclaimer ? still a mess yeah ik .. MXKAJD. but even tho most probs don’t even know who alissa is i just wanted to say that saint will have green eyes bc .. #aesthetic.

WANTED PLOTS.

once again any plot goes except for romantic stylez kind of plots bc yk not her kind of thing. catfish ( either someone used to catfish someone else using her pics or even better someone got catfished with her photos n now they’re meeting and she’s .. acting v different. plS. ), fwb ( so yeah saint hates relationships but u know what she doesn’t hate wink wink ;) KMSLASK also probs won’t work with males bc she’s all like [ cher horowitz vc ] as if ! ), fan ( someone who likes her movies or show idk ?? let her be all chill with them pls ), smoke bud ( she loves to party & smoke soo .. maybe even in an all-in-one with the fan plot ), enemy ( probs one of the other sec charas bc maybe they’ve met before or even wanted the same role ?? ), once again my brain is a mess sooo .. good bi !

this got longer than my biography ever could so if u read it all .. u truly are the mvp and deserve an award.

#stropez:intro #≻ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ɪ'ᴍ ɢᴀʏ ┊ ooc.#i feel like i'm the only one not in the gc yet sooo excuse me if i roll in there Very awkwardly later SKAKDJ #also i don't know a proofreading so .. smiles.

9 notes · View notes

long-way-down-rp-archive · 7 years

Photo

Fiona Hawkins

TRUE NAME: Not one she knows. FACECLAIM: Margaret Qualley NICKNAMES AND ALIASES: Nona (What her brother called her when he was very little, and it just stuck). DATE OF BIRTH: September 15, 1995 ACTUAL AGE: 21 GENDER: Female KIND OR CALLING: Changeling of the Spring Court OCCUPATION: Works at The Enchanted Florist DISTINGUISHING MARKS: A scar from an iron burn across her palm, a birthmark (almost perfect circle) on her hipbone, one earring in each ear. PERSONALITY: Cautious, caring, secretive, quiet, gullible, reticent/diffident, scared.

HISTORY:

Amelia and Philip Hawkins opened their front door one morning to find a tiny baby girl left on their front porch, wrapped in a blanket, but nothing more. Her jet-black hair flat against her head, her expression calm. They had heard of Fair Folk, but had never expected to encounter one themselves — and though they looked, they were unable to locate whoever had dropped the little girl off. But Amelia held the girl close to her chest, looked down at her sleeping form, and fell in love. She was their daughter, no matter where she had come from. They were a young couple — both only 23 at the time Fiona was dropped at their doorstep, but they had always wanted to be parents, had they not? They knew that Changelings existed, thanks to Amelia’s status as a Guardian — fairy children who were abandoned by their parents to be raised by humans. Trouble was, for all Amelia and Philip wished, they believed that whoever had left her there had to be mistaken — they weren’t meant for such an honor, for such a responsibility. But they’d been raised well by their parents, and turning away a child, especially one that they’d felt such an immediate connection to, seemed unbearably cruel. Plus, Amelia was a Guardian after all — and wasn’t this just what she was supposed to do?

So they raised her to the best of their abilities, though unable to wholly explain what happened when she seemed to have a natural affinity for growing plants, even as a toddler. The plants in the house never seemed to die, but that was okay. Good, even. Though other things happened, too — her parents taught her how to knit and sew when she was young to calm her nerves, but it almost seemed to have the opposite affect. She would find herself in secondhand clothing stores, and a simple brush of her fingers across the fabric would trigger a whole host of memories and visions that weren’t hers.

Of course there was also the issue with plants – ones that would grow beautifully, making their garden one of the prettiest on their street, alternating with days when Fiona would grab a plant and it would shrivel up and die (sending her into a fit of tears), or when the plants would grow in the most bizarre of ways.

When she was ten her parents had a child themselves. Julian wasn’t planned, but he seemed to fit perfectly into their family, though almost straight away Fiona felt as though Julian was different. It was only then that her parents finally gave in and told her how they’d found her — and when she begged them to tell her who her parents were — to give her some clarity, Amelia and Philip looked at their daughter with sad eyes and explained that they’d had no idea. The woman who had dropped her off hadn’t stuck around long enough to explain who her parents were, but she was a Changeling; that was the only true explanation, given how everything about her fit together — from her magnetism for animals, to her abilities with plants, and even toward her aversion to Amelia’s homemade bread.

They helped her to the best of their abilities, but what exactly are two human parents going to do with their very much not human child? Fiona grew more cautious, nervous that somehow she might hurt someone — though she would never intend to do so. A touch on sweaters, a brush against someone’s clothing sent memories and visions through her mind that, on more than one occasion, sent her to her knees, hands pressed against her ears. It didn’t always happen, but when it did — and knitted clothing always seemed to cause it in heightened amounts — Fiona found her heart beating faster than she would have ever liked.

When she didn’t want to go to college, they consented. She could find work elsewhere, and as much as they would have liked their daughter to go off and see the world, there would always be a later time to do so. So for a few years she remained at home, watching over her brother and tending to her garden and the animals who came by their home. But when she turned 21, they decided that it was about time for her to get an actual job, one that would put her in greater contact with a wider variety of people. Which was only a benefit, after all. It had to be.

So together they decided on The Enchanted Florist, and after a brief time, Fiona found herself with a job, and more pocket money than her parents gave her for watching her brother. The beginnings of her own life.

Besides, there had always been something about Juniper, after all — and what better place for their daughter to work than a Florist’s shop?

FAMILY:

Amelia Hawkins (née Jasper), mother, 44, human, Guardian. Childcare worker, has had experience with supernatural children, though at the time Fiona was dropped off at her home, it was only minor. She writes for magazines on the side. Gentle, open, unrelenting. The reason both her children love books so much — she would often buy them new books and place them by their bedside, as a special gift.

Philip Hawkins, father, 44, human. Biology teacher at the local high school. Stern, loving, dedicated. He taught Fiona and Julian an incredible amount outside of their schooling — and took them on trips during the summers to various nature preserves and always encouraged educational exploration.

Julian Hawkins, little brother, 11, human. Currently in middle school. Likes bugs, steamed milk with lavender syrup, playing soccer, and his sister. No matter how “weird” she might be. The most important person in Fiona’s life, and she cares about him deeply.

SEXUALITY AND RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Bisexual, single. OTHER TIES: Juniper Rahne, boss. LIKES: Butterflies, sweets (especially gummy ones that taste fruity), her plants, the color mauve, sea glass. DISLIKES: Yelling, salted snacks, matches, rude customers, dead plants. HOBBIES: Gardening, knitting/crochet (her parents had her start this up when she was about seven to calm her nerves — now she won’t use anything but freshly purchased yarn), reading, swimming in the warmer months, making flower crowns. SKILLS: Somewhat accomplished in dance, very good with plants (when her powers behave), singing, good at memorizing various facts and bits of information. MEDICAL CONDITIONS: Other than the ones that would naturally come with who she is, she is allergic to honeydew melon. CURRENT FINANCIAL STATUS: She still lives at home — her job at the florist does not make a ton of money, but she has a moderate income. She also takes on gardening jobs as needed, to help people clean up/organize their gardens. Her family is solidly middle-class. PLACES: She loves anywhere outdoors, her home, and The Enchanted Florist. PETS: She has a white cat who she loves dearly, and any other number of animals that take up residence in her yard.

KNOWN MAGIC: She has psychometry, the ability to glimpse the past by touching an object, but she is unaware of exactly what it is and does not have much practice with it. MAGICAL ITEMS: None

RUMORS: For those who do not know exactly what she is, some might believe that she is a practitioner/witch of some sort, especially since she started working for Jun. Also, ‘that weird girl who talks to animals and plants’.

WRITING SAMPLE:

Fiona lay on her couch, humming gently to herself. Julian was upstairs building some contraption out of cardboard and styrofoam, blasting Taylor Swift and movie scores, alternating. Fiona preferred the latter, though tolerated the former for her brother’s sake. She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, before brushing them off to the side, a few stray strands of hair following suit. She had the day off from work — which she always disliked — the shop provided another base of solid ground, somewhere she could find peace — and furthermore, somewhere she did not have to usually worry about an unfortunate brush against fabric and a long-lasting headache.

At least she was used to the knit blanket at the end of the couch — that her toes brushed across, now. It had been her mother’s — one that her mother and made for her before she left for college. Fiona sucked in a breath of air as Julian’s music shut off and she heard the creak of his bed — he was getting ready to study or read about something not for school — which meant that for all her parents encouraged any and all learning, she would have to go up soon and make sure he actually studied for the Geography exam. But for now she could let him have his peace — his happiness was more important than some grade on a standardized exam given to the whole sixth grade class.

Let him have his time.

She pushed herself off the couch and pulled on her socks and shoes, before exiting the house. A quick “Jules, I’m going outside!” called up to her brother, and she was outdoors, breathing in the cool air, the ‘spring will come soon’ scent wholly present. She made her way over to some of the rosebushes right by the side of the house and ran her fingertips along the tops of the flowers, making sure they were all still alive. It was unfair when the winter frosts stole away her plants — before she could manage to stop it. If she could manage. It was always a bit of a jumble — she’d tried planting seeds for class, once — but they’d all sprouted too much, too fast. Uneven and unscientific.

She hadn’t been able to use the plants, and so her parents had had to plant new ones for her, ones she couldn’t touch at all, lest they, too died or grew too much or in too strange a way.

She brushed her fingers across the stems of the roses, but one broke off suddenly. “No.” Fiona shook her head, jerking her fingers back and almost tripping over the grass behind her. She sucked in a breath of air, before stepping forward again. ‘Grow.’ She though, wrapping her fingers around one of the roses. Suddenly one about five roses over shot up until it almost hit the window sill, and Fiona let go of the rose she was holding, giving a small sigh.

One day this would work — if due to nothing else, simply because it had to. Someday she wouldn’t kill plants or grow them in a freakishly odd way while only trying to make sure they stayed healthy. But maybe it wouldn’t work, maybe her love for plants was somehow misplaced. She sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes again. Maybe she just wasn’t feeling it today. Maybe she needed to help her brother memorize all the capitals on the African continent so that he’d be sure to ace his exam.

At least she couldn’t kill textbooks.

#lwdbio

1 note · View note

jmkitsune · 7 years

Note

1-59

1. selfie

I’m lazy go to my instagram and like one of the selfies I posted recently lol and if you’re not- follow me there too :D

2. what would you name your future kids?

don’t want kids

3. do you miss anyone?

plenty of them yeah

4. what are you looking forward to?

hmm twitchcon this year :D finally get to go

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?

all of my friends ^.^ they’re quite good at it in their own unique ways

6. is it hard for you to get over someone?

yes and no

yes emotionally but no mentally, once I close the door- it’s closed, the emotional linger things are what take a while

7. what was your life like last year?

uhhh not good not bad it was life-y

8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed?

yuuuuuup

9. who did you last see in person?

my sister- she just went out XD

10. are you good at hiding your feelings?

uhhhhh I SAY yes....my friends say I’m shit at it soo maybe?

11. are you listening to music right now?

sii

Halcyon- On and On

12. what is something you want right now?

star wars episode 8....twitch con....a puppy

13. how do you feel right now?

alright, can’t complain yet

14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you?

uhhhh....*thinks*...uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I think...last august....unless Eden hugged me after that, but I dunno did Kyo or Eden hug me before leaving on Election night, I forget

15. personality description

Ambitious...very ambitious, driven but easily distracted, oblivious to a lot of things but perceptive to some stuff. tries to be calm and relaxed more than not but winds up stressed and cluttered minded. I think...dunno ask my friends lol

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahah

17. opinion on insecurities.

they suck...like they ruin great things bout people cause people have all his greatness in them but the insecurities make it hard for them to even live

18. do you miss how things were a year ago?

nothing much has CHANGED sooo

19. have you ever been to New York?

I have

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?

uhhh just a little faster by there for tomorrow

21. age and birthday?

26, 2/20

22. description of crush.

moving on

23. fear(s)

abandonment/replacement

sensory deprivation

whatever lurks in the DEEP fucking ocean

die hard conservatives

24. height

5′7ish

25. role model

mm I used to always say some streamers and fictional characters but recently I’ve noticed I still look up to them but don’t wanna be them, I just borrow bits of them I like, I am trying to be my own role model now that I’m older

26. idol(s)

see above

27. things i hate

stress, having to work to survive- hey no one likes it I’m admitting that personally hate it, my depression/anxiety, most food lol

28. i’ll love you if…

see if I tell people that they’ll abuse that information, best learn one on one not giving EVERYTHING away that’ll be kryptonite

(but a sneak answer- snickerdoodles- I love those things)

29. favourite film(s)

star wars

30. favourite tv show(s)

futurama

simpsons

arrow

flash

legends of tomorrow

supergirl

star wars rebels

brooklyn 99

31. 3 random facts

I have six tattoos want tons more

still wear my class ring

picky as fuck eater

32. are your friends mainly girls or guys?

I think the MAJORITY is still girl, quite a few are guys now, some are non binary/gender neutral so I’d say it’s balanced out

33. something you want to learn

probably everything to some degree

34. most embarrassing moment

goooood question, probably when I got my first kiss, my mom brought me, her, and our friends home from swimming at the local Y, well I walked her to the door, she actually PICKED ME UP kissed me like not cute kiss but like yeah and put me back down before going inside, my mom/friends gave me shit the whole ride home....I was redder than my hair I think

35. favourite subject

history/literature probably

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?

see all 3 books of mine published

become a partnered streamer with a community I am proud of

own a puppy and cat in my own place on the west coast

37. favourite actor/actress

uhhh carrie fisher right now

38. favourite comedian(s)

colbert

39. favourite sport(s)

soccah

40. favourite memory

hmmm I still remember watching star wars (the original one) for the first time in my living room when I was like 6, I was like SOOOOOO into the movie and during the trench run I was like running back and forth on the couch asking my mom and step dad if Luke was gonna make it, was the Empire gonna win, I was HELLA invested....and that started my obsession

41. relationship status

single pringle

42. favourite book(s)

grisha trilogy, percy jackson books, harry potter, any of the Star Wars EU (legends and canon)

43. favourite song ever

I’m still here- from treasure planet

44. age you get mistaken for

apparently early/mid twenties? when I shave though like CLEAN shaven probably 16-18

45. how you found out about your idol

yeah see question bout idols lol

last idols I had were twitch streamers who my brother showed me when they were on YT

46. what my last text message says

don’t text soo sorry

47. turn ons

ya know if you REALLY wanna know this one ask off anon just cause then you can get a direct answer lol

48. turn offs

racism, sexism, prejudice (of any kind), intolerance, umm gore (like HELLA gore to the obscene amount), anything like abuse/r*p* and the like

49. where i want to be right now

somewhere NOT HOTH (it’s cold and snowy here...I hate it)

50. favourite picture of your idol

yeah skip

51. starsign

I’m Pisces in human form

52. something i’m talented at

apparently writing scenes that can break hearts :D

53. 5 things that make me happy

friends, video games, puppies/kittens, music, and sleep

54. something thats worrying me at the moment

dentist tomorrow

HATE dentist appointments, partially cause fuck dentists and second cause I have to be awake for like...8 am

55. tumblr friends

@thescarletbxtch @iamthelizardqueenx @lunar-lolo @kyostiel @queen-of-acheron @catherineparrs umm I have a lot actually like I talk to a lot of people on here but if we can on other things (discord/fb/twitter/whatever) we talk on those. I don’t MIND talking on here but if they have options I have we drop this for something else lol

56. favourite food(s)

pancakes, snickerdooodles, grilled cheese, french fries, cucumbers, cheese poofs

57. favourite animal(s)

Foxes, huskies, and munchkin cats

58. description of my best friend

1- constantly stressed out, can’t sit still, enjoys bugging me, short as hell, big eyes, can be cute when she wants to be, loves animals and has to be told “no” a lot when wanting to take in strays

2- clever, like way more clever than she realizes. Pensive a lot but can be loud, in charge and opinionated when you get her going. I buck heads with her sometimes but it’s mostly cause how alike we are. A ravenclaw true and true.

3- smart, kind, funny, dependable, loving, such a deep understanding of people emotionally even when they’re at their brink and want to crawl under a sink to hide forever. They are wonderful towards people and animals alike even if the people don’t deserve it

4- dead pan smart ass, feisty and giggles/cackles easily, extremely lewd but not offensively, loving and cares more for those around her than herself sometimes but allows us to care for her. also do not turn your back on her in a game, you’ll get shot lol she has no shame

5- very bookish, incredible easily fixated on a project they started, tends to be very considerate and needs to think of her OWN well being more than others- speaking of- make sure you eat somethin today dammit.

and they has a thing for trash guys, memes, and loooooooves women, but mostly the ones that can bench press her oh and brooooooody as fuck guys yeah those too lol

59. why i joined tumblr

honestly- I wanted to build a community/audience. I was at the time JUST finishing my first book before getting ready to start publishing it so I figured tumblr was “the new popular place” for that stuff

#Anonymous #askmestuff

1 note · View note

hypersexualhyperlexia-blog · 4 years

Text

Michelle having grown up in this small town still had some bad habits, even though she tried to educate herself and not be a "yokel" type. She admonished herself even as she tried to watch unnoticeably as the new neighbors moved in next door.

There was a slim man who seemed to have a bit of a flashy fashion sense, wearing a black leather jacket with gold studs on the black jeans black shirt gold glitter covered boots with stop sign red hair short in the back long on top and dangerously handsome for the cut. There was also a lady seem a more quiet type apparently into that vintage look, with her handbag matching her petticoats which matched her heels. They hovered around the movers truck, the man jumping in now and again to help things keep going, the woman going inside to direct where all their things would go. Yet time and time again the pair ended up standing side by side again as if used to gravitating towards each other.

She had to look closely at first but the two moving in appeared to be siblings, since over the breathing masks they wore, were the same grey eyes. She thought it a little strange but not by much. The way her mom told it, it was the gen X folks who stopped getting a place when moving out of their family home with siblings very frequently. Apparently in the old days that had been normal not matter the genders. Indeed Michelle and her brother had shared an apartment for a few months before she found a place and moved out on her own. It's just with these two... something was strange.

-(^_-)-

They didn't do anything odd but they seemed to be so in tune like newlyweds, bubbly and laughing lots, affectionate in a way she could only describe as them not seeming as dysfunctional enough to be family to each other. She knew that was rude as all hell but, working in psychology she could tell a lot about people and knew even when a pair of siblings love each other, they still will have some difficulty with each other.

She tried to go work on her case management files but she found herself making up reasons to go past the window and take another look. Soon she knew she couldn't do anything for it but go outside. And she knew it was gonna be cheesy but she slapped a tube of tollhouse cookie dough on a bakingsheet and let them bake before having a shower and getting properly dressed arranging them on a cute plate. All so she could go be a nosey neighbor.

The 26 year old checked her dress and hair making sure it wasn't too much just for going next door, honestly it wasn't more than what she's used to wearing to work just with a little make up and shoes she'd never make it in a day of her job in, just because they were a little cuter than her work shoes, also a bonus conversation topic she and the lady might have to talk more about. But since she's been working from home so much she has forgotten the right level of business casual for going anywhere. She put on a face mask and headed to the window for one last peek.

Finally satisfied and just before the movers leave giving herself the perfect chance to talk to them without having to ring the doorbell and feel a moment of anxiety where she may well scurry back across the street leaving the cookies behind, Michelle went over keeping the right amount of social distance greeted the pair. "Hello, welcome to the neighborhood!" she said in a cherry voice only possible because having half her face being covered all the time now have her a little more confidence.

"Ooh are those for us?! How lovely, you shouldn't have but now you've given this big lug a reason to bake something in return." The lady said. Her hair raven black and down to her hips, only decorated with a pair twists from the sides of her hair pinned back and now that Michelle was up close saw she was an equally slim figure to the man which gave her a very elegant look, probably because her style of dress wasn't wrapped around the idea of showing off the girls which she clearly had very little of to show.

"Yes precisely. I will indeed use any excuse to bake. I mean, it's gotta be better then building 40 model airplanes and getting hopped up on the glue. I for one am delighted my special interest is so delicious and can not be hoarded. Hi there, nice to meet you." He spoke up to be heard through his mask.

Michelle found herself a bit startled by the statement, it seemed he may have been implying himself to be on the autism spectrum. But since she firmly believed that far more people then researchers or doctors knew were also on the spectrum she was not startled to find out a person had ASD traits. But his style of dress made a bit more sense now, he seemed so into his image he might be mistaken for a fashionably gay man.

Which she realized with how similar the two looked might be the odd thing. The longer she looked at them the more sure she was they were siblings. So maybe he was also gay which lent him more emotional freedom to be affectionate to his sister.

"Michelle Flannery, it's nice to meet you too. My, I must say if you find yourself with 40 cakes you definitely can drop one off at my place, he he he. I'm that little ranch style across the way." She laughed.

The movers stopped over and had the woman sign something then they took off in the truck their work apparently over. As this happened the man said "I wouldn't have it any other way and as a matter of fact, I will be sure you're the first person we bring something over to. I'm Kai Donaldson by the way and that's Kita."

"Well, Michelle if you have been keeping yourself healthy for everyone, not having any fever or other symptoms and are willing to wash you hands inside then, please come on in, let's have some tea and get better aquianted." Kita said.

"Oh no, you guys must be so busy already-" She began

"It's alright, I can say we've been tested and you won't be at risk in our house. Plus, I'm going a bit nuts hanging out with just him, please I insist, it is rather hard as an adult to make new friends after moving so I won't let the chase get away." Kita said with a blush Michelle could see even with a mask on.

"Ah, oh alright then. So you must be siblings? I think those are the only people you can be so totally annoyed with but still be perfectly comfortable and loving with too. I have a brother myself, Henry. I still call him a doofus to his face, but if I'm in a jam he's also the first person I tell." Michelle said accompanying as they walked up the walkway to the 3 family house.

"I know exactly what you mean. Kai is the smartest and dumbest person I have ever met and I say that entirely with love." Kita said smiling up to her eyes as Kai led the way.

Into the first floor apartment they went and the pair instructed Michelle to the bathroom down the hall and past the kitchen while they went to wash hands in the kitchen and set a kettle to boil. Michelle took the opportunity to use the toilet as there were toiletries out already. She thought perhaps they had been staying there at times before their items showed up she had noticed signs of the place being sold over a month ago and last week sometimes thought someone was in the house. She was thinking these mundane things when she heard a strange noise like a table shifting in the kitchen. She exited the bathroom and walking on the quiet carpet peeked into the kitchen and happened on a sight which shocked her to hell and back.

Kita was laying on the dining room table her legs open and Kai standing between them bent over her a little with one hand braced on the table his other arm about her lower waist as his hips rocked against his sister.

"Do it." she heard him murmur quietly.

To this Kita began to moan softly as quietly as she could in an obviously sexual euphoria. Her voice quivered as she trembled in bliss "Oh, ohn oh fuuuck, unfff~!"

Michelle leaned back out of the doorway the little bit she had been peeking in at and also heard Kai speak again.

"All better?"

"Yes, thank you. Thank you for taking care of me." Kita replied in what would be a casual tone but seemed full of genuine gratitude and breathless lust. There was some kind of shifting sounds again, this time in such a way Michelle could not for the life of her tell what happened.

Shocked further by the exchange she peeked in to the kitchen again and jerked backwards stumbling and losing her footing falling backwards. Somehow the incestuous pair had separated and were on opposite ends of the kitchen fully engrossed in two different tasks. Kai had been digging out mugs from a box which looked mostly unpacked that Michelle would have sworn was unpacked and closed seconds ago. Kita was across the room by the sink measuring out hot cocoa ingredients with an apron on she had not been wearing before. She processed the impossible images she saw as she went down on her ass with a light small sound "Oof!" realizing she twisted her ankle stepping back. She was immediately terrified as she was startled enough by their behavior and that impossible scene to want to leave that crazy house but didn't want them to know she saw them making out then teleporting and somehow badvancing time itself. Or had she? Had she been hallucinating all of it?

A moment later there were obvious footsteps as Kita came to the doorway and peeked out her faint polite expression changing to one of concern. "Oh, are you alright? Here, I'll help you up. Let's get you to the recliner and I'll grab an ice pack. You're looking a bit pale dear, it will be safe to remove you mask once we get settled on the sofa with a bit of distance.That way you can get a good breath of air."

"Y-yes, I- alright. There was maybe a little dip in the hall floor there." She lied trying to look calmer and allow herself to be helped up. There was nothing for it, she had seemed to reinjure an old wound in her left ankle and was stuck at least for the next 10 minutes so she would have to play along tiplease she could limp her way back across the street. She tried putting those lusty moans out of her head and ignore the feeling that was almost fright (which was actually fright that she was making light of for her sanity) at the odd way they seemed to go from the center of the room to the opposite ends deeply busy with their tasks.

Kita sat her in the chair and Kai brought in the tray of mugs to see what was going on. Already Michelle's ankle had swollen up and was developing a bruise. Kita and Kai gave each other concerned looks.

"I used to be a medic in the military, would you like me to wrap that with ace bandage for you?" Kai said. He looked genuinely shaken by someone else's pain and as strange as the whole scene in the kitchen had been Michelle could tell he just wanted to help so she nodded.

"Oh I'm so sorry this has happened! That looks so very painful." Kita moved to recline the chair and put Michelle's legs up which while a little awkward in a dress she thought would be fine if Kai kept himself professional while putting the bandage on.

He left the room and returned with a small first aid kit and sat beside her facing away so she looked at his back, apparently thinking ahead to keep her modesty in tact. Michelle blushed hoping she hadn't made him feel he must do that or be accused of assault. She reminded herself she had not witnessed him forcing himself on his sister but doing something she had wanted him to. This brought up a worrisome thought which she had to put out of her mind off shudder was to play ingnorance to their sexual relationship. It was 'Maybe she is older and has been sexually abusing him since they were children, using his disability against him...'since sadly in her line off work she had to think often this way off people.

He rubbed on some kind of ointment that maybe was tiger balm then he set about the bandaging, letting his gentle hands work quickly speaking softly over this shoulder to her while Kita reheated the cocoa. "It should be a little tender to walk on for maybe the next week but swelling or pain worsens please don't hesitate to give us a call and I'll take you to the hospital. I suppose once you're ready to go back home I'll walk you too. Honestly if you need to be carried I'll do that instead. There. Kita, how's that ice pack coming along?"

Returning from the kitchen Kita came with the drinks pain reliever cookies and the ice pack. Kai set it against the side of Michelle's ankle gently and in perfect position to ease the pain. Now over the shock of things she had more time to look at the two and when he stood went to the sofa 10 feet away and sat he tugged down his mask and let of a slightly flustered breath. Kita sat beside him and set a hand on his shoulder pulling hers down too. "You good?" she asked. "Yeah, trigger doesn't hit as hard when there's no blood, you know? As calm as the training keeps me inside it's still feels like life or death. But I'm okay. I'm okay." Kai said with a soft smile looking directly at Kita.

Michelle about to reach for her cocoa simply stared a moment looking at their uncovered faces. They looked possibly Latinx or maybe Aboriginal to the Americas. Both were rather beautiful and she felt herself blushing about finding what pretty face Kai had. And how absolute the resemblance was between them. 'Well, that explains a even more, twins sometimes do have inappropriate relationships with each other to either one or the other extreme of either hating each other or loving each other. I suppose as adults they function a lot better than other sets of twins with such dysfunction. He has battle induced panic disorder and she's got separation anxiety, I'm sure of it.' She thought. It was now far less unnerving seeing proof the two have an incestuous relationship. It wasn't very odd now to think how codependent the two were as it seemed in all consideration good for the two to have made the choice of staying close to each other. She blinked and made her self stop staring and took up the mug pulling her own mask down. "Thanks the both of you, Kai and Kita. And goodness, you're identical? That must be interesting."

Kita giggled and took up her mugs. "Yeah we do kind weird stuff sometimes, like walk or breath in sync with each other. We even have a weird telepathy caused by the fact we think almost exactly a like."

Kai brightens up again with a broader smile. "We're long lost actually. Ophaned at two different places but in that time both married red heads, both got tattoos in the same area, both worked as chemists. Finding each other was weird too."

"So true. I lost my husband and then Kai came along moving to the same place with no awareness of my being there and for a while it turns out we were operating opposite schedules in even the same city and finally came together at a grief counseling group at the local hospital." Kita said. She apparently still held pain about her husband's death and paused to sip her cocoa as her mouth went a bit dry and she looked as if she blinked away a tickle that could turn in to tears if she let it.

Kai continued from there. "I lost my wife Alice and she lost her man Alex. So the very first time we met we were in our own heads not really seeing each other till she and I went for cocoa and reached for the same cup. I... thought I was going crazy looking at my own face like that."

"He was not sleeping well back then, hallucinating often so he..." Kita began to giggle.

Kai crossed his legs and sat back bringing his mug to his lips while blushing.

"He raised a hand and just reached out thinking he would put his hand through something that wasn't there. He was so confident he put a lot of momentum into it to do it quick before anyone saw... but he ended up slapping me in the middle of the face and almost got the cops called on him. So I told them it was okay he just needed to get home and sleep and bustled out with him and ever since we've been the best of friends who are also siblings who never met till about 4 years ago."

"I wasn't trying to- and I could immediately tell I screwed up, and God it was so disorienting..." Kai said shaking his head.

Michelle found the story of the pair so amusing and romantic in a way she found herself forgiving entirely the fact they were brother and sister. Maybe if she were her own mom and this was the 60s this would be unacceptable and be indeed a reason to try and run the two out of town, but seeing how obviously happy they were, she knew she would never tell anyone what she saw. And still what was it she had seen? Immediately those highly experienced gyrating hips, his eyes taking in every ounce of erotic expression on the face that looked so much like his, the deeply satisfied moans all came flooding back and she had to work to push the image away. 'None of my business, none at all except...what? did I lose time long enough between peeks in the kitchen or something? How had they gone from doing something so strange lewd and almost wholesomely to something totally normal unexpected and frightening?' She damned her nosey self for asking.

"Ah, wow, you must have married young." She asked continuing the conversation in a normal way.

"Yep, both to someone we dated in high school. I went in to pharma, he went into the Marines. We both were only married less than five years but hope to have each other far longer in our lives." Kita said reaching out to ruffle Kai's hair in a playfully annoying way.

"And you?" Kai asked almost absent-mindedly picking up a lock of Kita's own hair and tickling her over the nose with till she quit and gave a little shiver with a giggle.

"I don’t have anything so serious yet, I guess my job is a bigger part of my life than dating is." She answered. It was the truth all told but she didn't bother telling them she has a friend with benefits as that might get a bit awkward. Somehow more so than a pair of long lost siblings who fell in love with and have sex with each other. Two grown adults who obviously love each other but both too avoidant to commit to each other for good? Shifty as a 2 dollar bill.

"Well, as long as your work makes you happy. I suppose, right? We both reassessed our lives and decided to be happy we needed careers in a field we love and will do even unpaid. So now we have a bakery which is also half library specializing in comics and manga. This is also why we live together. We recognized we found what we went to that group counseling for, just one other person who knew what the loss was like, who needed what strength we could offer in exchange for a little help, in each other." Kita said leaning in a little and resting her head on Kai's shoulder.

"How's the ankle feeling?" Kai asked gesturing with his hand as he held a cookie.

"It's not much better, I'm afraid I might take you up on the offer for a ride to the hospital." Michelle said aware there maybe be something really wrong with it as even with the cold the swelling went down only a little but it was not entirely pain free.

"Perhaps we'll go now then?"He suggested.

"I... hmm... maybe I'll see how it does overnight? I have had an injury there before and this feels the same just far less intense. For that I had crutches and an immobilizer. Maybe using them again for a few days will help?" She thought out loud.

"And we'll be here to help in any you need, as a matter of fact... we have a room maybe stay over and that way you have someone to help out till you can be up and about yourself?" Kita said clearly worried about how Michelle would cook or go to the grocery.

"I hate to say it but, I might need lots of help for the next two days. Henry stayed at my place three weeks the first time I hurt my ankle. Are you certain it's not asking too much?" Michelle asked she was starting to feel guilty for coming to nose about and ending up with the new neighbors waiting on her hand and foot.

"Not at all, not at all. I was actually thinking, " Kai said "I could give you a piggyback ride across the street we can help gather up what you will need and transport it over here and when you're ready we'll help take your stuff back home. Sound good?"

"That actually makes a lot of sense. And hah, well I can work from here on my laptop. Okay, yeah." She answered.

And so they finished up the drinks and had a few cookies each and went with the proposed method which she was well aware Kai suggested so A) she wouldn't have strangers roaming around in her house while she was helpless to oversee them B) she would be able to give clear direction and help them pack up what she would need. It took about 30 minutes, during which the twins seemed to be actively cheering her up as well as reassuring each other about the sudden new addition to their dynamic.

Kita helped her into a bath proving to be quite strong physically herself then dressed in her pajamas Michelle was ushered to bed like a sick child to rest while Kai made dinner for them all. It turned out he was making chicken and dumplings soup and while the meat cooked he came to re-apply the ointment and bandage once again facing away from her. She realized he was purposely hyper focusing on the medical application rather than the person and the pain they were in, perhaps aware of a trigger in it.

She was able to use her crutches to get herself to the table to eat but found she had difficulty sitting in a chair as she had to stretch her legs in an odd way with her foot up on a chair under the table. They chatted over the food and she took the offered pain reliever again and was once more ushered off to bed. The apartment had 3 bedrooms the one she was sleeping in was Kai's while he took the sofa since the 3rd room was meant to be a home office and had only a desk an chair in it.

She fell asleep rather early and while dreaming shocked herself for the fourth time. She dreamed the two were sleeping in Kita's bed and she was watching them through a cracked door. The two were making love in slow passionate way Kai thrusting into Kita pausing and panting his pleasure for a few breaths before withdrawing and thrusting again. Kita moaned loud not quietly as she had during the day but as if she didn't give a damn who heard. Michelle felt herself becoming more and more aroused and for some reason unable to look down knew her hand was in her pajamas rubbing her clit fast. She found herself cumming in ather sleep as she watched, and woke with a gasp. 'I... do I like that they are siblings? I would never see Henry like that but... The way they are... the way Kai's arm had held around Kita's waist as she arched her back and came from him grinding against her...' I a pervert? Since when did I like incest.?' She thought in a vague splintered fashion.

Michelle drifted off again after thinking it over for a while and in the morning didn't even remember the wet dream.

1 note · View note

presidentsclubkrp · 4 years

Photo

Our crime tale begins with KANG TAEYOUNG, a FORTHY-FOUR year old member of THE PRESIDENT’S CLUB. HE works as their MONEY MAN, but he’s better known as the infamous SMOKE. JOIN THE HEIST?

PART ONE; the basics

Name: kang, taeyoung

Alias: n/a

Code name: smoke

Faceclaim: jung woosung

Gender/Pronouns: male, he/him/his

Date of Birth: january 2nd, 1976

Age: 44

Hometown: pyeongtaek, republic of korea

Occupation: senior border control officer, port of incheon

Canon: the money man

PART TWO; about

Biography (trigger warnings: none)

kang taeyoung was born into a typical nuclear household in a working-class neighborhood. his father was a fisherman, his mother a seller at the seafood market. although the man was often gone from home for weeks on end, he always made up for his absence with quality time in between intervals, and while the woman was very affectionate, she wasn’t so weak-willed as to give into overindulgence. there might’ve occasionally been a few errors in their shared approach to child-rearing, but nothing to warrant the development of a warped outlook. they surrounded the boy with enough necessary requisites to become a benign, law-abiding citizen like they were. unfortunately for them, his was a case where nature prevailed against nurture, and he was inherently resistant to the values and beliefs they were trying to impart.

growing up in modest circumstances as dictated by his parents’ fluctuating income streams, he was told be content with whatever means within which they were living. however, at a young age, kang taeyoung was already fascinated with the affluent lifestyle portrayed in mainstream media, designed to either offer escapism or stimulate consumerism, mostly imported from foreign countries. the wealth itself was one thing, the gap between his own and the televised quasi-reality another. in a sense, he was inspired, and since nobody wouldn’t wish to improve their living standards, being ambitious shouldn’t be a problem. except that his motives were ill-directed: the way he saw it, in a world overrun with nobodies, to be recognized with riches was to have his status elevated above the masses. he wanted to be admired – envied.

ii.

kang taeyoung wasn’t among the hardest-working students in his school, yet he certainly was the most fashionable. he placed a heavy emphasis on appearance because it was the foremost basis upon which judgments would be formed, so there was always something either on or with him to widen the kids’ eyes and pique the adults’ curiosity as he walked by - whether it was his clothes, his accessories, his toys or his bicycles. upgrades happened one at a time, often enough to maintain and dial up the interest level, though not as much as he would’ve liked. he never went around bragging to his peers when he got a new item, simply vaguely implying its expensiveness once they brought it up with timid awe. it was a dignified satisfaction to have people speculative about the possible disparity in worth between one’s and their possessions.

the question wasn’t about how he managed to get his hands on authentic goods, but how he almost constantly managed to outdo himself. some neighbors came with accusations of excessive lenience and offers of management tips, only to give his parents a chance to express how proud they were to have such a mature son who understood the family’s hardships and ran errands even beyond town to cover his own expenditures, blissfully ignorant of the actual nature of his activities. truth be told, kang taeyoung was generating money from helping his uncle cheat at illegal gambling games and exploiting strangers’ compassion. the former executed via sitting in a corner and spying on the opponents’ cards, then reporting back through specific gestures. the latter, with antics like slip-and-fall accidents. he started all this at the age of seven.

iii.

as political stabilization and economic prosperity increased the volume of movement through their town, the fisherman sold his boat and invested the family savings into operating a convenience store with the help of his son. at the time, kang taeyoung could no longer tag along to his uncle’s cards games under the pretense of needing babysitting, and while he was seeking a replacement source, embezzling from the shop’s register didn’t cross his mind. until he witnessed how much of a pushover his father was now that the man was landbound. every deadbeat in the neighborhood owed him money, anyone who came in with a sob story got to leave with a free product. attempted intervention simply resulted in lengthy lectures on cynicism, so the boy thought, this was better off being wasted on his personal gratifications instead.

meanwhile, his portfolio of shenanigans was steadily expanding, so he recruited a distant cousin for assistance. sparing the vulnerable and focusing on non-locals due to the unlikelihood of unexpected re-encounters, their usual scenarios revolved around trading dropped wallets, fake watches, prized antiques, etc. for cash; with complex schemes like spanish prisoner and black money occurring periodically as his youth undermined the plausibility and his older yet less quick-witty partner had to be thoroughly prepped. a key to their successes was to convince the victims what they were doing were shady, because people loved the idea of beating the system and their voluntary agreement later prevented them from contacting the cops once they realized they were cheated. in high school, the duo began running an illicit id forgery business.

iv.

the store went bankrupt around his high school graduation. the total amount of his embezzlement stood at fourteen millions won, and although it posed an equal contribution to the business failure, he showed no remorse, pinning the blame entirely on his father’s misplaced generosity. seven months later, the man passed away, no one wept harder - or moved on faster, than he did. at this point, the town was reduced to a bacterium, he was far beyond its bitter jealousy of his rather inexplicable capacity for unrestrained spending. it was high time he stepped into the real world, and the pressing question on his mind was about how to sustain the desired perception of his status on a grander scale. never did kang taeyoung intend to become a full-blown con artist, which wouldn’t generate enough to cover what he was striving towards anyways.

he wanted awe without strings attached because idolization would bring social responsibilities and public scrutiny, seeking to garner prestigious possessions to remind the nobodies how miserable they were with their mundane cycles and demonstrate to the somebodies he was a force to be reckoned. the international trade sector seemed like an optimal place for the collection of significant amounts of money at fast paces : not all imports / exports were authorized, and officials carried within them various degrees of guiltiness, i.e. acceptance of bribes in exchange for feigned oblivion or misappropriation of confiscated goods for resales on the black markets. the best way to evade the laws was to understand the loopholes from the inside, hence kang taeyoung’s decision to enroll in a criminal justice degree with a major in homeland security.

there kang taeyoung was, the go-to handler for smugglers and customs-cheaters, as well as the number-one black-market dealer for illicit goods in the entire gyeonggi province. armed with a silver tongue and a handsome visage, he had all the right tricks up his sleeve to leverage his bargaining powers over the opposite parties. he sold the benefits not the features, he applied time pressure to discourage critical thinking, he adapted his dress codes to facilitate cultural compliance, and he cited social evidence to drive the deals down the desired paths. his credence was further guaranteed by a national crime syndicate, headed by none other than his distant cousin. despite his extensive ties and his proclaimed preference for no-one to lose if everyone could win, he never let himself be part of anyone else’s crusade, only pursuing his own self-interests.

can trust nobody when you strike it rich was the motto he lived by, but people blinded by love forsook their strictest principles for the mistaken beliefs that their significant others were worth the exceptions. for the longest time, kang taeyoung was involved with the owner of a popular hostess club. so utterly infatuated, he didn’t think thrice when she asked him to co-sign for a loan of five-hundred millions won. the femme fatale then proceeded to vanish, and his attempts to track her movements through card usages and cellphone signals were to no avail. with the loan shark breathing down his neck and the mob blocking his exit out the country in order to avoid a strife with the former’s enforcers, the opportunity to extricate himself from this parlous situation presented itself in the form of an invitation to join the president’s club.

#prclub:the money man

0 notes