#this man has been in the industry for like a decade now and all we have is an ep like he's just pissing me off on purpose.... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dekusleftsock · 3 months

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This is your hazbin hotel warning so sorry 🫶🫶🫶

OKAY SO, a thing I haven’t seen this fandom consider is that Alastor doesn’t deal in souls. Or, not often at least.

If there has I’d honestly like to see the posts bc this is a thought I’ve seen basically just me and my sister talk about. He doesn’t care—I’d even argue he thinks he’s too good to do so, thinks it’s too easy.

There’s a couple reasons I believe this, one of which being his backstory arriving in hell. Let it be known, the reason all of hell was impressed by his takeover as the radio demon was solely because he does not own any industry. He doesn’t have some company he’s been building for several decades. He didn’t join in with other overlords for shared power. He arrived in hell, and disrupted the power structure of overlords, and sinners. (We’ll get back to this later)

And the reason all of these overlords own major industries, famous for their insane production value and craft, is because the way that overlords gain power is through souls. Employment therefore being THROUGH these contracts (I’m going to refer to deals having to do with souls as contracts from now on, just to make a distinction). This is why Angel is owned by Valentino as a pornstar. It’s why Vox can just “call up the lowest earners this month” for Valentino to shoot for sport. It’s why Velvette can call her models hideous and let Valentino tear apart her best model. None of these souls, these employees, have any say in what or when or who their employers say they have to do. They simply do not have the autonomy to do so.

Now this calls in the question then, how did Alastor gain his overlord powers? If he owns souls, they are either ones he was given or earned from other overlords (ex, Alastor wins all of husker’s souls in a game of poker, leaving him powerless, and making his deal in the first place), or they were given to him by an overlord themself. Alastor CAN make souls stay at the hotel, but presumably, it’s not because he owns them.

If Alastor owned any other souls than Nifty and Husk’s, they would already be working at the hotel. We get back to that employment dynamic, contracts are means of living. None of these sinners had a choice because sinners have to make contracts to live.

Now, okay, we’ve established why Alastor’s overlord status is confusing and honestly makes no sense, why overlords are even overlords in the first place, the class metaphor and dynamic of the whole situation, AND why we know Alastor doesn’t own that many souls.

Now, I present you this: Alastor does not want Charlie’s soul. Alastor, wants to be rid of the overlord class completely.

LET ME PREFACE THIS BY SAYING: I KNOW The current ideas in the fandom of Alastor are that he wants more power. But, to be honest, the last scene with his character feels disingenuous to this idea.

Clearly, he’s in a deal with someone else. Clearly, this system has affected him too. Clearly, he just wants an out in the first place.

So, let’s go back to when Alastor first arrives in hell. Mimzy narrates how people dismissed him. How he wasn’t taken seriously. And then, proceeds to imply that targeting overlords for his radio show was to show said strength. Because Alastor was not someone to be dismissed.

And this characterization furthers in the episode itself: Alastor immediately has some beef with Lucifer because he’s a far more powerful being who wanted to dismiss his presence in the first place, preferring his daughter. Where they then have a pissing contest musical number, and Alastor generally dislikes him afterwords. My man even wipes his hand on his shirt after shaking his staff.

Not only that, but when Husk even IMPLIES that he’s not strong enough to handle whatever Mimzy has gotten herself into this time, that he’s still someone on a leash, he rampages on a killing spree to prove that he’s “still the baddass radio demon”.

This isn’t even mentioning when Carmilla said she wasn’t curious as to why he was gone. He needs to be important, to be noticed.

I understand that Alastor is genuinely someone who must prove themself and show their strength. It’s probably why he became a serial killer in the first place.

However, I think there’s a deeper intention with solely targeting overlords—one of his only contracts is with Husker, an ex overlord. The question would also be, why would he not put husk in his radio show as well?

Clearly, based on the fact that he warns him that Mimzy is just using him, that she’s a fake friend, they at the very least were amicable with each other. At some point. Maybe even still are. They STILL banter. And this isn’t to say it’s some weird “I’m in love with my kidnapper uwu” situation, this happened well before they were in a contract together in the first place.

Not only that, but Husker earned his souls, and therefore his power and overlord status, through gambling. He didn’t have some big scary industry, he wasn’t trapping people in these forever deals because they had no choice, he gained these through the unethical means of others. Maybe… Alastor believed that the ways in which he dealt souls, were different.

I can’t help but think that the company entirely surrounding taking away consent is the ONE COMPANY/THREE OVERLORDS that Alastor simply does not fuck with.

Not only that, but the only other overlord he’s friendly with is one that… just genuinely helps the people she employs? Just give them advice? Makes it THEIR CHOICE to march with someone else into battle? I love Rosie.

This isn’t to say Alastor is some saint that cares super oober deeply about consent. He doesn’t. If he did he wouldn’t be associating with overlords in the first place. He wouldn’t be taking advantage of people in such lowly positions.

All of this is to build the argument that Alastor does not own souls, nor associate with people who own them in irresponsible or unnecessarily cruel ways.

And, to further this point, Alastor most likely thinks it’s stupid in the first place.

In the pilot (which I understand isn’t COMPLETELY canon but it’s still Alastor’s character so. Whatever) Alastor almost immediately tries to jump Charlie with a deal. Work at the hotel, in exchange…?

But notice that this does not include ownership of her soul. At all.

In episode 7 before Charlie makes her deal, she asks, “You want…my soul?” And while he has this weird radio-y affect that goes all over the place while he says “your soul”, he also immediately replies in the most babying voice ever “Heavens no!” Like the very idea of needing her soul was silly. Ridiculous. Idiotic.

And, not only this, but when Vaggie bursts in to try and “save” her, he also rolls his eyes as he says “oh relax, she still owns her soul.” Again, babying. Infantilizing. Ridiculous.

It, again, feels like he doesn’t take the concept seriously. Like he thinks they’re almost too easy. To me, it’s clear he never wanted her soul. He’s always been far more interested in what Charlie can do for him, and what she can do with her dream.

Owning Charlie’s soul would simply give power over her, and her alone. Even in the interpretation that he “wants more power” she’s still just one person, one soul, one hell born. It’s so small inmemorable in the grand scheme of things. If he really wanted power through means of souls, he would fight the upward battle of capitalist destruction that is the overlord monetary system.

SO THIS IS ALL OVER THE PLACE, AND I ALSO WANTED TO WRAP THIS UP WITH ALASTOR’S TRUE MOTIVATION BEING DISRUPTING POWER—but this is also far too long and I’ve been writing for like. An hour straight lmao. I need a break and I wanna post this. So.

#alastor #literary analysis #hazbin hotel #hazbin spoilers #hazbin alastor #alastor analysis #hazbin hotel husk #no shipping sorry y’all love ya tho🫶🫶#hazbin charlie

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icyminghao · 10 months

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if you call on me forever, i will come (preview)

pairing: popstar!soonyoung x fem!reader ft. childhood bestfriend!joshua genre: angst, fluff (not in preview), arranged marriage!au warning(s) (for the preview): cursing, mentions of food word count (for the preview): 1.9k

summary: as a result of his entertainment label teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, soonyoung is given an ultimatum: marry the heir of the largest entertainment label in korea and save his career, or risk losing everything he’s built over the last five years.

a/n: just a little something i’ve been working on to make up for the inactivity~~ not sure when this would be uploaded since i haven’t finished it yet ><

Having been in the entertainment industry since he was eighteen, Soonyoung has quite literally been through it all. From the doubtful eyes of the public when he just debuted to the current, decent fanbase he has garnered through all his years of hardwork and determination, Soonyoung has seen it all.

At least, he thought he had.

“What the hell did you just say?” Soonyoung snaps his head to send the CEO of his music label a chill-inducing glare, and Mr. Kang gulps for a split second before returning to his stoic expression.

“I said,” Mr. Kang clears his throat, “you’re to marry the heir of VIBE Entertainment, as per the conditions set by her father.”

The words hit Soonyoung hard, like he’d just downed a bottle of vodka in one go. He resists the urge to launch himself at Mr. Kang. “And why the hell would I do that?”

“Because,” Mr. Kang sighs, exasperated, “you have to. It’s the only way for our label to survive. You know what our situation’s like, Soonyoung. The CEO of VIBE Entertainment is doing us a mercy here. Just marry the girl, and VIBE will take us under their wing, and-”

“And then what?” Soonyoung snaps, “We’ll just be one of the many companies monopolised by that farce of an entertainment label. You’ll be just another one of his subordinates, another one of his pawns. Is this the path you want?”

“I mean, just look at what the fuck you’re doing here.” Soonyoung runs his hand through his blonde locks in pure frustration. “I have a fucking girlfriend. You’re just going to upend my life to live out a shitty future? This is the twenty-first century, man. You’d think we’d have gotten over the stupid ‘arranged marriage’ cliche, huh?”

“What do you want me to do, then?” Mr. Kang raises his voice, his gaze hardening. “Do you think I haven’t considered the consequences of this for you? For the label? For me? I’m doing this because we have no other choice-”

“I have my fans. I could work something out,” Soonyoung reasons, pacing about Mr. Kang’s tiny, cramped office.

Mr. Kang laughs with no emotions behind his eyes, and Soonyoung is just now noticing the pure exhaustion manifested in his horrid dark eye circles. “Your fans can’t do jack shit, and you know it.”

Soonyoung doesn’t say anything in reply, because Mr. Kang is right. His record label had been struggling when Soonyoung first debuted, and silly, naive, eighteen-year-old him thought he could change that. Thought he could be Mr. Kang’s hero, thought he could save the label with his immaculate talent.

Fast forward to five years later, and the label is doing so much worse after suffering the effects of supporting an average pop star for half a decade. Hell, he can’t even bear to call himself a pop star. Five years down the rocky road to stardom, and he’s barely produced enough hits to even be considered a household name in the country, let alone the world. He knows Mr. Kang is right. They’ve been backed against the wall, and there’s only one way out.

Breaths evening out as he calms down, Soonyoung shuts his eyes so tight it feels like his sockets might pop out. Letting out a sigh in surrender, he slowly opens them and inhales deeply.

“How long do I have till it happens?”

You think you might just be Soonyoung’s biggest fan.

You’ve been with him on his journey to stardom since he debuted, and you’ve been a loyal fan since. You’d even talked to him once, when your father’s secretary brought you to the set where Soonyoung was filming an interview with a magazine.

Which is why your mind is reeling right now. Your father’s secretary, Joshua, had just informed you of your impending marriage to Soonyoung, and you’re both happy and taken by surprise.

“He… agreed to this? Willingly?” you ask, doubt lacing your voice. Joshua simply nods in response, before letting out a huge smile and stepping closer to you.

“This is really big, y/n,” Joshua grins toothily. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and launch yourself into your childhood best friend’s arms, squealing.

“I know, Shua! I’m just, really surprised he agreed to this willingly. I mean, I feel really bad since this is, like, being forced upon us and all, but maybe he remembers me from the time we met at the N Magazine shoot?” you ramble in complete disbelief. “God, Joshua. What if he doesn’t like me? Or I don’t like him as a person? We’d be so miserable, maybe it’s not too late-”

“You know you can’t change his mind once he’s set on it, y/n.” Joshua sighs, gently grabbing you by your shoulders to ground you. “Besides, what’s not to like about you? The only thing you should be worried about is whether or not you’ll like him.”

You break out into a dopey smile, touched by Joshua’s kind words. “Aw, Joshie, are you flirting with me now?”

You see a hint of panic flash through Joshua’s widened eyes, but his phone beeps with a notification before you can call him out on it.

“Oh my god, I almost forgot,” Joshua says after pocketing his phone. “You have a dinner with him tonight.”

You’re late to the dinner.

Which clearly would not give Soonyoung a good impression of you, you realise, as you silently pray for Joshua to drive faster.

In your defence, Joshua had only informed you about the scheduled dinner barely an hour before it was supposed to happen, and you were at your office in your father’s company building sorting out some PR stuff for a newly-debuted boygroup, so you had a grand total of about forty minutes to prepare yourself for the dinner. Which, after reducing the travel time to your apartment to get ready and to the restaurant, left you a whopping ten minutes to spare.

Which is how you ended up in this predicament, at least ten minutes late to your first official meeting as a soon-to-be married couple.

You don’t even realise when Joshua finally pulls up in front of the restaurant, and he has to gently nudge you to snap you out of your stupor.

“I’ll be waiting out here when you’re done, okay? Everything’s going to be fine,” Joshua smiles softly, reassuring you with honey laced in his words. You shoot him a nervous smile, bidding him goodbye as you scramble out of his car and into the restaurant.

The restaurant is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. You guess you’re considered a child of nepotism (a “nepo-baby”, as Joshua calls it), yes, but you’d stopped relying on your father’s black card to get by, instead depending on the pay you earn from your job (which technically comes from him since you work at his company as the PR team leader of a newly-debuted boygroup, but it’s still your money nonetheless) that honestly isn’t much, but you get by, so you couldn’t ask for more, really. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t really do fancy restaurants, hence your surprise.

Your first thought is that this restaurant is overwhelmingly bright. The place is decked out with so many chandeliers, and there are so many utensils laid out on an empty table for two you’d think there were at least five people having a meal there. You briefly glance at an occupied table and wince upon seeing the measly portion of the food, knowing you’ll probably have to get takeout later.

Your second thought is holy shit, Soonyoung’s right there, and he is ethereal the moment you spot him a few tables in front of you, seemingly lost in thought in a booth in the corner of the restaurant. He’s dressed to the nines in a crisp navy blue button down with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black slacks, and his hair is nicely slicked back with a few strands framing his face, your heart nearly stopping at the sight. He makes eye contact with you as you stand there like a total idiot and looks away before you beam at him, like he didn’t recognise you.

Right, you think, he probably doesn’t recognise you considering the last time the both of you interacted had been four years ago. You take a deep breath and mentally psych yourself up as you walk over to Soonyoung.

Soonyoung looks visibly confused when you stand in front of him, and you don’t know if you should be amused or offended.

“Hi,” you begin, “I’m y/n.”

As if a switch was turned on the moment you introduced yourself, Soonyoung’s gaze hardens, and you feel yourself shrink a little under his piercing eyes.

“You’re late,” he practically spits, venom lacing the two simple words.

“I’m sorry, I got here on short notice, I only knew about this like two hours-”

“Save it, I don’t really care. Let’s just get this over with.” Soonyoung grumbles, not even bothering to hide his eye roll. Hurt flares in your chest, and you timidly take the seat across from him.

“Um, so, I think we’ve met b-”

You’re cut off once again as Soonyoung closes his eyes and sighs in visible frustration, his breaths becoming quicker. “Look, uh, y/n, I have no intention of being, like, friends with you or whatever, okay? You folks sprung this up on me like I’m some kind of object, so you can’t expect me to act like all of this is fine when it’s really not. Let’s just get this dinner over and done with and go back to our expiring freedom, yeah?”

“Soonyoung, but you… agreed to this. Willingly,” you protest, confused at the rude tone he’s taking on.

Soonyoung scoffs, cocking an eyebrow at you. “I have a girlfriend, y/n. Why would I accept this willingly?”

You don’t talk after that, and just like that, there’s an unspoken agreement that that was the end of the conversation for possibly the entire dinner.

Your food arrives, in portions made for children just like you expected, and you eat in silence, willing yourself to stay calm. Maybe he’s just having a bad day, you try to reason, blinking back tears.

Or maybe, the voice deep inside of your head pops up, you’re doomed to be in this loveless marriage forever.

You jolt out of your trance as your fork clatters to the floor with an ear-piercing sound, and you smile sheepishly at the neighbouring diners who had turned to see what the commotion was. Picking up your fork and laying it on the table, you decide that you’ve probably had enough for the day.

“It was nice, uh, meeting you. I should go now,” you purse your lips together and try your hardest to not burst into tears in front of Soonyoung, though if he notices, he gives no indication. You stand up and leave after a few seconds of silence, feeling increasingly suffocated.

As soon as you step out of the restaurant, you let out a huge breath, the first tear slipping out of your left eye. Through your blurred vision, you see Joshua stepping out of his car, hurrying over to you.

“Oh my god, y/n,” he frets over you, swiping your tears away with his thumbs. “What did he say to you?”

You continue sobbing as Joshua wraps his arms around you, leaning your head on his shoulder as you shake uncontrollably. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Let’s get you home, hm?”

You nod in between sobs, letting your body go limp as Joshua walks you to his car.

The ride home is silent, your mind clear of all thoughts but one.

You’re doomed to live out the rest of your miserable life with a man who cannot and will not love you. Not now, and not ever.

a/n 2: i hope this was okay!

taglist: @slytherinshua @xomingyu @belladaises @pepperonidk @tastymintchocolate @smilehui @dahliatopia

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wheelsgoroundincircles · 4 months

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1956 Chrysler Norseman

The Dream Car at the Bottom of the Atlantic: 1956 Chrysler Norseman

Despite its sleek and dramatic styling, this Chrysler show car is remembered mainly for its sad fate: For decades now, it has been sleeping at the bottom of the Atlantic. Here’s the unfortunate story of the 1956 Norseman.

Throughout the 1950s, the Italian coachbuilder Ghia of Turin enjoyed a prolific partnership with Chrysler, creating many of the Motor City automaker’s most memorable show cars. Chrysler provided the designs, chassis, and running gear, while Ghia’s artisans created the hand-crafted bodies, typically at a fraction of the cost and time required in America.

However, there was at least one Chrysler-Ghia collaboration that was never officially shown to the public: the ill-fated 1956 Norseman. On its voyage to Detroit aboard the Andrea Doria, the Italian passenger liner collided with another ship, the Stockholm, and sank around 50 miles off the coast of Nantucket, claiming 51 lives. Since July of 1956, the Norseman has rested in the Andrea Doria’s hold at the bottom of the Atlantic, and a handful of photos are all that remain.

Designed under the supervision of Chrysler styling chief Virgil Exner, the Norseman showcased a number of distinctive features, but arguably the most spectacular was its fully cantilevered roof, reportedly conceived by Chrysler stylist Bill Brownlie. With no A or B pillars, the top was supported entirely by the buttress-like C pillars, aided by a pair of thin steel rods in tension at the forward edge of the panel. Other distinctive touches included hidden headlamps and floating bumpers front and rear.

The Norseman was constructed on a 129-inch wheelbase chassis—the same wheelbase as an Imperial, we note—while a 331 CID hemi V8 provided the power, coupled to a PowerFlite two-speed automatic transmission. According to Chrysler, the idea car, as the automaker called its show car prototypes, represented an investment of 50,000 man-hours and $150,000 to $200,000, while Ghia’s portion of the build consumed $15,000 and took 15 months, it’s said.

This photo of the Norseman’s cockpit, above, also provides a close look at the pillarless roof construction and the elaborate one-piece windscreen supplied by PPG Industries. Four bucket seats upholstered in two-tone metallic leather were separated by broad consoles front and rear, while the front seat backs pivoted to provide easier access for rear passengers.

Since the Norseman went to Davy Jones’ locker before it was ever officially photographed or displayed, very few images exist. (There is even some dispute about the color of the paint.) The few available photos were all taken at Ghia in Turin, including the fascinating shot below of the wooden body buck on which the aluminum body panels were formed. The rare snapshot provides some insight into the tremendous amount of hand labor required. While the Norseman and its unfortunate history are well-remembered today, few if any of its exotic features ever made it to a Chrysler production vehicle.

#Chrysler Norseman #chrysler #norseman #car #cars #mopar #moparperformance #moparnation #moparworld

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hwaightme · 1 year

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Your fan, Hongjoong (part 1)

(part 2) (your fan ml)

👘 pairing: hongjoong x fashion designer!reader 👘 genre: romance, fluff, mutual pining 👘 summary: a bulletpoint-style wordstream of what it would be like if hongjoong was stanning you 👘 wordcount: 5.5k (help) 👘 warnings/tags: language, radio shows, reader is goth, goth subculture, a bit of mutual pining, seonghwa aries rage, san is sus, jealousy, DRAMA(rama), hongjoong is starstruck, reader has her own fashion house/brand, photoshoots, brand collabs, demon line boutta act up 👘 a/n: Hello fabulous people <3 Here we have, the one, the only, the legendary, Hongjoong next in the Your Fan, ___ series! Thank you so much for your love and support, reblogs, likes, asks and comments all welcome

"So alongside your brilliant songs, you are also well known for having breathtaking performances, with an edge that only ATEEZ can do. Could you elaborate on what exactly goes into creating your unique aesthetic?"

Hongjoong looked around the studio. Him and Yunho, being the resident radio DJs, had been invited onto a show to promote their newest comeback, and talk all things creative arts.

There had been a number of guests before them who he looked up to, from others in the music industry, to visual artists, writers, and designers. This was the way in which he had discovered new changemakers, and got to know those stars he had deemed 'unreachable'. Breathtaking, but there to be admired from a distance.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the amazing designers and stylists that we work with. Really, without them none of this would be possible and ATEEZ would not be the same."

"Definitely, with each stage and comeback, it seems that there is no end to just how much they, and you, can wow the world. Now, there is a particular fashion house that ATEEZ has been collaborating with recently, could you tell us more about that?"

Now that was an interesting direction to steer into. This was very new on the horizon for ATEEZ, and few media had covered this so far. Hongjoong perked up, forgetting the tranquility that he had to normally adopt for such shows, instead letting himself bask in the rays of his passions.

More specifically, your brand. He had known of its existence, thanks to a serendipitous selection by his stylist, before he had even figured out who the brain behind the art was. He discovered the connection entirely by accident - through this radio show.

You had come in for an interview, much like Hongjoong and Yunho, and sat in one of these seats, telling your story. This same man who was asking them questions, had conversed with you. This appearance was like Hongjoong's little moment to connect with his unreachable star.

You were notoriously elusive, so public appearances were few and far between, and this explained why he had initially not even associated you and the brand together. But as it turned out, that had been the point. The lore was strong in this one.

You had explained during the show that you felt no need for your personal image to be connected to the brand itself, as the garments and those who wore them were the real imagemakers. You had also shown a deep understanding of the subcultures from which you took inspiration and, yourself, followed, diving into legends who had pioneered their popularisation over the decades. In all honestly, that had him hooked, and left him wanting to learn more about how your mind worked.

"Ah yes, more than happy! ARNURI is a brand that we only recently started working with, and could not be more happy. The brand has a world view and prides itself on destroying boundaries in fashion. There is no gender, no size, no limit to what can be achieved. It actually takes inspiration from the variety that is within goth subculture and totally redefines what is meant by luxury. I mean, their slogan is 'lead by antithesis' after all."

He had paraphrased your introductory speech from one of your first exhibitions after you had your big break at one of the Fashion Weeks. It had been a solo show, organised outside of any specific season, every detail paying homeage to what had been advertised as 'embracing the darkness of nature'. For this show, you had scouted models among your friends, among the myriad of citizens of Seoul, and used those same city streets as your catwalk.

Maybe the reason why that particular event had spoken to Hongjoong was because it reminded him of the street busking he had done in his early days. The days of when one risked it all for a future that was not guaranteed, simply because they had hope.

Hongjoong could go on, but Yunho's shift to balancing his head on his hand as he rested his eyes on the captain, and batted his eyelids like a Disney princess made him stop abruptly.

Not that the host had noticed.

"Ah yes! And isn't the name, ARNURI, a play on "Our World?"

"Uh, yeah!" caught off-guard by the follow-up since he was trying to telepathically communicated to Yunho to cut whatever he was trying to do out, he stumbled over his words a little. But it was easy enough to settle back in once he thought of the moment KQ management had shared the official communications between the two companies with him.

"So it was quite funny when the brand approached us for this, they actually quoted our song 'New World'. Really if it were up to me I wouldn't even ask for a portfolio at that point."

"Of course you wouldn't..." Yunho whispered, leaning away from the mic so it barely caught, serving like background noise more than anything.

Hongjoong's head snapped in the other member's direction, but he was met with legendary nonchalance. Truly, the epitome of 'it's not awkward unless you make it awkward'. The guy even raised an eyebrow back at him as though Hongjoong was acting out of line.

"That is magnificent, it was meant to be! Maybe there are some ATINY in the company!"

"Oh we wish!" Yunho interjected, a chuckle escaping him as he glanced in Hongjoong's direction.

"Well, we are very much looking forward to seeing more of these fantastic designs, and the photoshoot that ATEEZ will be doing with ARNURI! Maybe you will be able to create some items together? Can ATINY hope for a new line in the future?"

"Hah, I do enjoy altering clothing and really letting creativity run free, but I am looking forward to the learning-".

"Oh yeah, Hongjoong has been a fan of the brand for quite some time, so finding out that we are now working together is a dream come true!"

Hongjoong lowered his eyes and let his fingers flitter across the table in front of him. There went his opportunity to be all slick and cool. Or was he over-reacting? Again, Yunho was unreadable.

The host then quickly rounded off that segment of the discussion, and cut to an ATEEZ song break, in honour of the guests.

Confirming that the mics were indeed off and he wasn't about to cuss out the entire nation, Hongjoong turned to his 6'1'' headache and hissed:

"Let's keep this about ATEEZ, shall we?"

"Why so serious, bro? Don't you like ARNURI?"

That, he did. The problem was that it was no longer just ARNURI he liked. To borrow some fandom-speak, he had abandoned the 'casual fan' territory, and had found himself quite a few clothing items and accessories-deep, and with a bias.

And since he would rather have Yeosang feeding him sour candy than revealing that he liked ARNURI more than he probably should, any joke in that direction was like an arrow that he felt the desperate need to dodge.

"Yeah, of course I do. I mean, we are working with them right?"

"Riiiight. And you are wearing their jacket. That you literally do not let anyone touch."

"What? I like clothes."

"And you keep said jacket in a plastic bag from the dry cleaner's because suddenly you are Seonghwa two point oh."

"Is that not... normal?"

"Rich to ask for a person who spray paints shoes in the living room at three in the morning."

"Hey I ventilate."

"BY TURNING ON THE EXHAUST VENT IN THE KITCHEN?"

"Shh, Yunho, we good. We can discuss this later-"

"Oh no I like your discomfort shawty talk to me."

Hongjoong pinched the bridge of his nose. This kid with his surprise attacks. Before he could think of a way to get himself out of the hole he dug, the host was suddenly showing that they had thirty seconds before going live. So he settled for:

"We'll continue this conversation later."

"And I chose Seonghwa over you."

"Choosing violence... I swear to-"

"And we are back! I hope you, dear listeners, enjoyed the wonderful-"

You paused the podcast. So, your personal assistant was not kidding when she ran into your office, waving her phone side to side as though she was at a concert, saying that Kim Hongjoong knew a lot more about ARNURI than you assumed.

Really sometimes you thought you hired her not for her abilities as a PA, but because she made you feel a tiny bit more sane. But at the same time, you were one in the same - who was listening to the recorded radio broadcast right after she left your office, reduced to a fit of giggles, sitting in total solitude? You.

Quite the contrast to how you normally were - zoned out due to exhaustion, brutal because that was how your business worked, or totally unreachable because 'the vibe was right and you were in a creative flow state'.

But this was how you got that bread. And had taken ARNURI to new heights. You continuously sacrificed yourself for the art.

There had never been another option for you - ever since you were a kid there was only one thing you were interested in, and that was fashion. You were that one kid who shamelessly stole (and wore) her parents' and siblings' clothing, modifying it so that it looked more like you.

You had 're-designed' your school uniform which had nearly led to your suspension. To this day you were confident you had done the right thing remaking the outfit to being pitch black - it was not your fault that the school had no sense of taste and had chosen such a horrid shade of grey.

And aside from becoming the 'adopted child' of some goth clubs in the city, you had crashed fashion show after fashion show to just see how the legends did it. You were taken by the stark contrast between what was classically accepted and popular on the runways versus the enchanting amalgamation of Victorian era dress, New Romantic, punk and new wave.

You had sworn to yourself that if there was one thing you were going to do, it was be one of the designers to fuse the worlds together. So you gave all you had to this dream. You had completed fashion school, worked in Finland to immerse yourself in the nation's vibrant, borderline mainstream goth scene, and had participated in many art exhibitions and avante garde fashion shows to make yourself known.

This was your calling. Your everything. So when you finally managed to get your brand up and running, bringing your vision to South Korea, you were shamelessly promoting it as best you could. Sending samples, contacting influencers, knocking on all the doors until SOMEONE answered.

And that someone turned out to be a stylist at KQ Entertainment, working with a group called ATEEZ. After a few exchanges on Instagram, they had agreed to use a couple of items, and let the media do the promotional magic.

You were desperate, having not had much success in the country due to difficulty in finding early adopters of the brand, so you agreed.

Turned out it was a much better investment than you had initially thought. A few members had sported ARNURI wear for a fansign, and pictures from the event FLEW around the internet. Eventually, the clothing was discovered, and your site started getting more and more hits.

You assumed it was just a fluke, but that fluke turned into one of the members, who you learned to be Kim Hongjoong, starting to make regular appearances in ARNURI, especially when it was evident that he had the final say in what to wear - airport looks, more casual events... black-clad, supporting you more than he could imagine.

Inadvertently, he had turned into a motivation for you. He had given you the hope that you could reach the stars if you so desired, and so you began to build up.

Season after season, you worked tirelessly, and eventually broke into Seoul Fashion Week. Your daring showcase of your 'ANTITHESIS' collection had gathered a large audience, and soon enough, you had to step into the spotlight, and reveal your identity.

You could remember it as clear as day, 'She Sells Sanctuary' by The Cult roaring in the background as you stepped out, every bit ARNURI, an overnight neo-goth sensation.

As your brand got bigger and bigger, and you were now leading a business of nearly 100 people strong, you had to become colder and more distant. It was a sort of self-preservation, since fashion was not an industry where one could escape criticism and blatant slander, especially when your primary goal was to be yourself.

But that one idol. The one who had agreed to wear your brand, and then continued to do so voluntarily, Kim Hongjoong, still remained special to you. He was your quiet encouragement.

So when you heard from your marketing and communications team that they had scouted out an opportunity to work with ATEEZ, you gave them the green light almost instantly, and much to their surprise, participated in crafting out the perfect proposal.

And when you received an agreement and contracts in response, you needed to excuse yourself and locked yourself in your studio, letting yourself squeal. Just a bit. And then walked back out - she is beauty she is grace.

The first stage of the collaboration was going to be a nice and simple photoshoot. You said simple but you were running around the building like a headless chicken making sure everything was ready.

It was going to be for a new line, 'PHANTASMOS', an ode to phantasmagoria, horror theatre and the portrayal of all things fantastic, strange and ghoulish. And who would be a better group of models than ATEEZ?

As the day approached, Hongjoong was becoming considerably more nervous, and that was only exacerbated by the announcement that you personally would be attending the shoot.

He did not want to come across as a fool of some sort, wanted to be a serious leader, really leave the impression that he meant business. To him, you were elegance itself, a tranquil beauty in black, and he wanted to match that to the best of his ability.

Which was exactly why he had turned his and Seonghwa's dorm into a fabric skip, with shirts, trousers, t-shirts... all of his prized possessions were strewn around the perimeter and occupied nearly every inch of the floor. Hell, even his customised Doc Martens were lying miserably on his bed.

Just as he was contemplating between a blazer with lines of safety pins as decal on the lapels or a classic leather jacket with more zippers than ways his children could annoy him, Seonghwa returned from his trip to the LEGO store.

Hongjoong had never seen every single stage of grief flash across a person's face in one second. But there it was. He gave the eldest member a sheepish grin, subconsciously cowering away closer to the windows - as far away from the evidently not too pleased Seonghwa.

"Kim. Hong. Joong. What kind of fuckery is this?"

"Oh. OH! Amy Winehouse! Yes, big fan, that's uh, that's Me & Mr. Jones right?"

"I will use you as a broom stick Joong."

"Look I just got carried-"

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU? PLEASE LET ME KEEP AT LEAST SOME OF MY NERVE CELLS!"

"What's happening- oh Joongie is in trouble~" Mingi poked his head in through the door, making it look as though it was the Teletubbies sun floating above Seonghwa's shoulder.

Hongjoong really wished he could laugh. He really did. But he was afraid he was about to be forced to eat the starship that his roommate bought.

So much for trying to be 'chic' and impressing you. Now he had the goal of making it to the shoot in one piece.

"Mingi. Exit. Now." Seonghwa commanded, jaw clenched, which made the younger member quite literally bolt, slamming the door so hard that the items that were hanging on the stuck-on hooks slid off and fell behind Seonghwa.

There was a mass meeting audible right outside of the room, and a very distinct seagull laugh penetrated the walls. Hongjoong cursed his bad timing. Had he only started early, maybe he would have had time to shove at least some of the items under the bunk so it didn't look too bad.

"Right. You know what. I am zen. I am the calmest of the calm. You take care of others, I take care of you. Right? Now. Wait, you know what I need to just-"

Seonghwa picked up a large pillow off one of the beds, eyed it, looked at Hongjoong once more, and then PUNCHED it with blinding rage, sending it flying right back into the bed.

"Okay now I am fine. Care to explain when you were planning to sort this shit out?"

There was another wave of mumbles outside, to which Seonghwa responded by making the door fly open and shouting out "we are having a VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION."

Before closing the door entirely, a quiet comment from Yeosang could be overheard: "they're getting divorced in there," leading to some giggles, and pitter-patter of footsteps away from the door. They probably just chose a slightly different location to camp and snoop.

Hongjoong decided to sink into one of the clothes piles, motioning for Seonghwa to take a seat next to him. He was in a dilemma, unsure of what sort of explanation would be the most effective for Seonghwa. So he just settled for the truth.

"You know the shoot that we are going to do?" he began, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes, I do. What, is the aesthetic landfill-chic?" Seonghwa motioned at the explosion over the room.

"No, not at all! Don't even. You have seen the clothing, right?"

"Of course, I wore ARNURI before. Must say, very flattering. And fashionable. That one overcoat made me feel like a vampire prince."

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment on that. Seonghwa was Seonghwa, he had his own agenda and his own interpretations.

"Right, so... well, you know I have a lot of ARNURI stuff? It's not just that... I have um... sort of become a... fan? Of the designer? L/N Y/N? She is just... her vision... her style is just... yeah she is great."

"Oh my gosh my boy Kim Hongjoong actually wants to meet someone outside of ATEEZ, this is legendary, I should post this on Universe."

"What in the- hey I meet people! And don't you dare"

"When, mister 'I don't really have many friends' and literally getting jealous over me talking to Minho from Stray Kids?"

"Hey, being a best friend is a responsibility, and you are my best friend!"

"Oh wait... I get it... I don't think you are aiming for friendship here... isn't that right?" a grin started spreading over Seonghwa's face as he looked like he discovered a new planet.

"I am just a fan of hers! Don't twist this!"

"Sure... okay now I get... this," he gave a judgmental side eye to the pile of sweaters that had made their home right by his display cabinet. "You are like a middle schooler before a first date, I swear. This is definitely because she's going to be there, right?"

"You know what? Yes, yes it is. And I might not have had my growth spurt yet but I am not a middle schooler." Hongjoong said, standing up as straight as possible, putting his hands on his hips.

"That's exactly what an angsty middle schooler would say." Seonghwa looked him up and down, stifling a laugh.

"You are on a power trip aren't you?"

"Hell yeah I am, and I will be for the entire shoot and beyond."

"Park Seonghwa why you do this to ME?"

"If you don't want the others to get the details I have an offer."

This made Hongjoong stop on his tracks and retract his 'leader card'. He did not want to lose face in front of the 'teezer crew entirely, so keeping this information in confidence was enticing.

"Yes?"

"First off, clean your shit. And second, I get that spot on the dresser for the Imperial All Terrain Armoured Transport model I've been hunting down."

"First, deal. Second, say that one more fucking time dude I dare you."

"IMPERIAL ALL TERRAIN ARMOURED TRANSPORT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE AT-AT WALKER, IS A FOUR-LEGGED TRANSPORT AND COMBAT VEHICLE USED BY THE IMPERIAL GROUND FO-"

"Did you legit memorise Wikipedia or something?"

"May the force be with you, bitch. Now you clean, I will go chill outside so I don't have an aneurysm because of how you do it. And by the way, I'd pick the leather jacket if I were you. Classic, timeless and looks good."

"Thank you man, you are the best."

"I know, now impress me with how you can make this room spotless."

And with that, Seonghwa left Hongjoong alone in the room. From what he could hear, there was a circus outside, with the other members having gathered around, interrogating about what had just unfolded. but Seonghwa was keeping his word, for now at least. He knew that he did not have to try too hard, since Hongjoong would probably expose himself as soon as he were to see you anyways.

And Seonghwa was more than right. The next day, when ATEEZ arrived to the studio, Hongjoong was very jittery. Alert to any and all people and sounds, he was looking around as if he was expecting someone - well he definitely was. As soon as they stepped into the ARNURI office, he was convinced that you could be around any corner.

The other members were beginning to catch on that this hyung was acting odd, to the point where Yeosang commented on Hongjoong looking like he was playing Alien Isolation in real life. The reference flew right over the leader's head, but he tried his best to tone his Pink Panther-style snooping down.

And instead focus on the many photos that decorated the walls of your house of fashion. Memories of particularly memorable parts of a show, awards, red carpet events... club nights, themed evenings, collaborations... this was your life. Right there, immortalised in tasteful monochrome.

The boys were in awe of the refined interior - strictly monochromatic, any accents in the otherwise white rooms and corridors were done using the colour black. Although it was not a rule by any means (in fact, you encouraged being as daring as one wanted), the majority of ARNURI employees were clad in the colour, fitting right into the brand and the aesthetics.

They were led up a couple of flights of stairs, and as they were making their way down one corridor, Hongjoong began to catch snippets of lively conversation, the occasional staff gliding a clothing rack past them or across the hallway, and... shouts of 'yes ma'am'?

Initially he was confused, but as they were getting closer to the photo studio, it clicked in his head: you were in there. Who else could be referred to as ma'am?

"Hey, Hongjoong, I think we are -actually- meant to... walk in the hall to do the shoot." Jongho walked up behind the leader, fake whispering, causing a round of chuckles from the other members. The only member who was not as smiley (except Hongjoong himself, that is) was Seonghwa, and it was because Hongjoong not so little infatuation was old news to him, and the room had been cleaned to a very satisfying level, much to his surprise.

"Woah no way, Jongho, that's insane. I was sure that this was a new technique or something..." Yunho piped in, glancing at Hongjoong, lips curling up.

He had a couple of sneaking suspicions about Hongjoong's behaviour whenever ARNURI, or more specifically the founder and lead designer, were mentioned or he was given the chance to gush about it.

The radio appearance was the closest to a confirmation that he could get - Hongjoong getting shy over being a big fan... what a sight to see. But seeing the post-discussion silent conversations between the two eldest members, and some signal exchanges while they were driving up to the venue really sealed the deal. There was something really fun going on with Hongjoong, and Yunho needed the deets.

For research purposes. And who was he to pass up on a ship in the making?

Finally, their manager, after finishing up a conversation with some of the relationship management staff from ARNURI, who had greeted them, decided to speed up the process and usher the kids in.

To soothe his nerves, Hongjoong picked at a bracelet he had selected for completing his 'first meeting and first impression' look. He had worn it many times over, and had even taken it with him on tour before, so it was a little ball of positive energy for him.

But nothing could prepare or prevent the Error that Hongjoong.exe experienced as he finally saw you in your element.

There was something spellbinding about the way you looked. Head to toe in your own creations, you were wearing an onyx-hued Victorian era inspired suit, matched with military boots that had immaculate metal detailing.

He could not stop staring, even if it could be perceived as rude, or too forward. There you were.

"Oh, guys, man down, man down, our captain's overboard~" Wooyoung taunted, shouldering San and Yeosang who were on either side of him.

It really was a sight to behold. Hongjoong, entirely captivated as you stood in the middle of the photo studio, guiding the entire room like a conductor would lead an orchestra.

He ignored the youngers' attempts to get his attention, much to their utter disbelief and resulting giddiness. If there was a definition of starstruck. This was it.

You appeared to have a pulse on EVERYTHING, down to the tiniest details, pointing out that there was a very specific prop missing, adjusting accessories, exchanging one scarf for another. It was the most organised chaos that Hongjoong had ever seen, and he was amazed at how you could keep it under control.

The star he had deemed unreachable was right there. Right in front of him.

"Joongie, I think you can leave your drooling until after the shoot. You don't want your makeup ruined."

"Oh Hwa is this how it is?" he looked at his friend in disbelief.

"I think you exposed yourself enough, no?"

"Ew, Hongjoong come on don't traumatise your wife." Wooyoung was not giving up on his mission to annoy Hongjoong into early retirement.

"GUYS please don't embarrass me-"

"Oh so you admit it?" San questioned, smirking like the devil.

"Admit what?"

"That you are doing some shady shit."

"Where did this even come from, San."

"So the studio then, no wonder you come back from there at like four in the morning."

"You guys are making me lose brain cells that I need to get instructions from the photographer." Yeosang deadpanned, nodding towards the set.

"I don't even want to begin imagining what sort of things you are thinking about, but I can assure you I will annihilate you if you start kindergarten season here." Hongjoong threatened but it fell short as Mingi grinned and joined in the ambush:

"Say 'aye' if you think this minion is invested into this shoot." the way he said it almost sounded like an innuendo, making Hongjoong scowl.

The most deafening collection of 'ayes' resounded around Hongjoong, and caused you to shift your focus to the newly arrived group. He noticed your expression soften, shoulders roll a little further back as you ambled towards them, the thuds of your boots setting his heart's pace.

"Ah good morning to you all! It is such a pleasure to be working with you. Did I make you wait for long?"

"Not at all, the pleasure is all ours." Hongjoong forced out, pushing the snickering members out of his sphere of attention.

"Great, well it is wonderful to finally meet you, I am L/N Y/N, the mad scientist behind ARNURI!"

"Very much the same here, Miss-"

"We'll be working closely enough to be informal, no?" you interjected before Hongjoong could call you by your last name.

Your allure was more powerful than he had hypothesised, to the point where some of the other members, more specifically San and Seonghwa, could not look away from you either - it seemed that you had the energy for attracting demons. The way you carried yourself, poised and courteous, demanded nothing less than respect.

At the same time, there was nothing demure about you. If anything, you resembled a cat that was ready to pounce any moment. As though there was a coil within you, permanently tense and even slightly dangerous. But that was thrilling.

Hongjoong cleared his throat, and corrected himself, "Yes, of course, sorry, Y/N. Shall we do the official greeting or-"

"Let's keep things personal for now, and once my lovely colleagues are done with the final checks, we can get started with eight makes one team." you winked, and suggested, quoting the greeting.

It was beyond entertaining for Wooyoung to see just how putty-like Hongjoong had become in your presence. He was just playing by your rules at this point, without questioning them. But it was understandable, who wouldn't get weak when their type was right in front of them and said 'let's keep things personal'?

"Well then let me be proper, I am San!" whilst you were exchanging words with Hongjoong, the member had time to slip from where he originally stood, and was now almost right in front of you, beaming.

Hongjoong chortled, but at the same time wanted to kick his fellow member in the shins because of the interception. What was his game here exactly?

Ever so politely, you greeted San back, not giving away that you were interested in continuing your chat with Hongjoong. It was second nature to you to blend one interaction into another without revealing any preferences - otherwise you would have a lot more enemies in the industry.

Then you simply proceeded to greet each ATEEZ member separately, your attention shifting entirely each time. You had a way of making people feel like, for even if just a moment, they were your universe.

It came from your tendency of seeing people both as perfect canvases, and as living works of art. You enjoyed the challenge that working off a person gave you, and this was mainly why you wanted to give each ATEEZ member a final once over - to see whether what you had planned was even right.

Each member gave you a unique impression, ranging from mischievous to shy to strictly professional. Seeing as you had never actively followed their activities, aside from their leader's, you were fascinated by the dynamic they were displaying, taking note for who you wanted to see in the camera together, and maybe even matching in some accessories.

Hongjoong was nearly holding his breath as he saw you reading ATEEZ like an open book. You were scanning everyone in the way he had seen renowned critics do while inspecting models on the runway. A Mona Lisa smile, and conclusions no one would know except yourself.

When it was finally his turn, he said his name as brightly as possible, faltering only towards the end as your eyes locked. He swore his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. It did not last long though, as you glanced down, and appeared to be incredibly happy because of something you spotted.

San was taking a particular interest in this silent mental tango, intently following your every move, while Wooyoung cupped his hand around his friend's ear and whispered.

"The bracelet."

"Ah, yes, it's uhm, should I say yours?"

"I guess so! It is from the limited edition MEDUSA collection. It suits you well. And the condition is impeccable though it's been what, a couple of years?"

"It's very precious to me, I try to take good care of it."

Seonghwa pursed his lips, the chaos of their dorm room clouding his vision. He imagined that you probably would go ballistic if you were to ever see clothing being treated in that way. Though Hongjoong did have separate storage for accessories and jewelry - that much was true.

"That means a lot. Thank you-" you turned as someone called out for you, alerting that everything was ready to go, "it's time, gentlemen, let's get this party started!"

As you clasped your hands together and moved away to join the lead photographer, allowing stylists to guide the group away and begin working their magic, San peered at Hongjoong once more.

When he made sure everyone else was out of earshot, he placed a hand on the captain's shoulder, and muttered:

"If you don't ask her out, I will. No hierarchy on this battle field."

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not-terezi-pyrope · 5 months

Text

I forget sometimes because I have my own friends and tumblr bubble where people are more reasonable, but yesterday I made the mistake of going on twitter and its algorithm noticed I had an interest in AI, and, man it's bleak out there.

I'm actually fairly despondent about the way that AI has firmly and probably irreversibly been cast as an ontological evil being inflicted on society. I hate that the industry I've studied to enter, that I truly believe can do a lot of good, is going to get me socially blacklisted in a lot of contexts.

I have got into fights with my own family over this. The other night I was out at an LGBT social meet and a couple of people there were illustrators or in media and the whole time I was like, "please don't ask me what I studied".

It's so grim. I could never have predicted this in 2018. I just want to build useful intelligent systems, reduce human labour burden, and explore the potential of cognitive computing for creative expression (no, not "AI art", at the end of the day I don't really give too much of a shit about that as a specific application. But building an agent that can express itself is the purest form of artistic creation there is).

Fuck society for not even giving us a chance to get this right before starting in on shutting it all down. Most people didn't even try to engage with deploying AI systems and cognitive automation maximally ethical ways, weren't even paying attention while those discussions were first happening, and now the people researching core capabilities the bad guys while y'all happily work to keep the rat race running in place where it was circa 1999.

(Fucking grey as hell future people online seem to want. Nothing revolutionary about doing nothing for decades and saying "wouldn't it be nice if things were different, but of course we can't actually risk trying to change them". Capitalist realism is a black hole for hope tbh.)

#not-terezi-speaks #my life #ai

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hologramcowboy · 2 months

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/hologramcowboy/745395618485272576/am-i-being-extra-sensitive-or-was-this-a-rape?source=share

I hope I can vent here for a second. I genuinely do not understand why anyone gave him a pass on that one. Had that been someone like Joe Jonas, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Mike Tyson, Pedro Pascal even, they would not have been given a pass and it would have been all over main news media sites. He wouldn't be making that joke if he knew any of the children that were sexually abused by priests for decades or what happened with the Boy Scouts. There are just some things you don't make a joke about. His Brendan Fraser The Whale joke he made was bad enough, as were some other jokes he made over the years, but in this day and age, there is no more excuse. I don't personally know anyone affected by the abuse people of those two institutions enacted, that I'm aware of I should say, and I would never ever make that joke. As gross as Misha can be, even he didn't make that joke. Even if he wanted to play along, he shouldn't, not after he was so vocal about the mass graves found in Canada and the atrocities committed by the churches up there against Native children for decades.

Any AA that defends that joke Jensen made is a heartless asshole that needs to get their heads checked as soon as possible.

Now, that all being said, I think he's saying worse and worse things lately for two reasons. The first is I think this is really him and he just doesn't give a fuck anymore. Like he'll still try to tell people what he thinks they want to hear but more and more lately, he gives a very no fucks given vibe. Whether that's due to what happened with The Winchesters or Rust or whatever, that's the vibe he gives off. The second is I think he says assholish shit like this at certain points because he's trying to give off a Soldier Boy vibe, sort of selling that character since a lot of people speculate he'll be returning for The Boys' last season. Sort of like he used to dress as Dean with the flannel and jeans, and then like Beau when Big Sky was airing. I could be wrong but that's the vibe I got when he went "oh, that's too far?"

I'm curious as to what your thoughts are. Not about the joke, we all know it was disgusting and highly inappropriate, but about why he presents himself like this sometimes. And why he always seems to get a free pass the more he ups the ante on being an asshole.

Jensen's self image is warped by his sychopant fans and his deluded wife. He has no personality of his own and instead tries to inject in himself the attributes of the characters he gets cast as because he mistakes characters for branding. Branding is who You are not who your character is. Branding is that unique essence you bring to your character.

Sorry to say but this is what happens when a man who lacks culture and studies gets hyper praised to the point where he loses his sensitivity towards others. Jensen has a one sided view in life, anyone who disagrees with him is automatically a bully. He is just like his sychopantic fans. He can't perceive the world in all of its layers and that's endlessly sad for someone who claims to be an artist.

He claims he wants to bring light to the world or whatever will earn him approval but then acts like a jock who is bullying his friends.

At the end of the day, Jensen is a subpar actor who lacks culture in an industry where people are now multihyhyphenated and multicultured. It would do him good to be more grounded and realize that his influence can help people when it is used with the intention to help, rather than when it is squandered on incredibly inappropriate jokes and behaviors (getting superdrunk at cons is a superbad example).

Being praised in a one sided way has clearly gone to his head. That terrible joke is not the first time he demonstrated a lack of empathy and self awareness. I really wish he had good role models around him but he's married to the queen of bullying so why are we even surprised when he acts like a mindless, self centered jock?

Jensen needs to grow up. A lot. Thank you for allowing me to vent, I have tears in my eyes as I am writing this, I am just so sad he's turning out to be such a disappointment on so many levels. You see, you are definitely not alone in your need to vent and thank you so much for expressing things in an honest, open way. AAs forget what honesty and having values means because they forego their own values and replace them with the perceived ones from Jensen. It pains me to say this because I saw so much in him but...Jensen is no rolemodel.

#jensen critical

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dudethatsmyundeaduncle · 20 days

Text

Tim Drake's Mom is actually Lara Croft! AU

After getting pregnant Lara Croft disappears off the face of the earth, takes up a shell company in Gotham left to her by her father, and assumes the identity Janet Drake.

(DC made Timmy's parents archeologists! so Sis it was between Indiana Jones or the Tomb Raider and well here we are!)

___________________________________________________________

Lara Croft has a daring archeological adventure/world saving mission with a dashing man she only knows as N. Drake (if u know u know) and finds out she's pregnant weeks after.

Lara Croft did not expect to be Pregnant. Lara knows that she shouldn't have a baby. She knows this intellectually and emotionally, she doesn't have any family left and after nearly 10 years of traveling the globe and putting herself in life or death situations she knows her life can't accommodate children. Lara knows the responsible thing to do, she makes an appointment with NHS/MSI and focuses on her next project. (TW: Discussion of Abortion)

Lara never gets her appointment. She misses her abortion date in London when she gets caught up in another mad expedition that takes her half way across the world.

On this mission she nearly looses everything, her friends, her own life, what's left of her father's legacy, all for a semi cursed magical artifact that nearly blows up the South American Coast.

Lara's tired, scared, she's been running from Trinity (evil org) for nearly a decade now . She's 29, she's 5 months pregnant, and she's stuck floating on her back in the middle of the South Atlantic sea watching the sky burn.

Lara's rich she could always get the abortion, legally or otherwise, her father left her a billionaire and the souvenirs she'd collected from her travels do nothing but add to that wealth.

Trinity wants Lara Croft dead, they'll never stop chasing, and Lara just wants respite. She wants her quaint childhood in the English countryside with her father, she wants to curl up and sleep for a thousand years. She wants to be someone else, just for a moment.

Her heart beats wildly in her chest and she can almost feel another heart beating alongside it.

Lara Croft makes a decision. She sinks into the sea and doesn't come back up for air even when it burns.

On the shore a nameless woman washes up, water logged and looking for passage to America.

The Croft's have had shell companies for years, one can't be a billionaire these days without at least a few, Medi-industries is an unassuming medical supplier located in Gotham, New Jersey the crime capital of North America. It's the perfect place to disappear.

Janet Drake Lands in Gotham on a gloomy morning in March, she's got enough money to throw around that people forget to ask what family she's from, this is Gotham new money is nearly unheard of.

By mid April Janet has reestablished control of Medi-Industries, Now Drake Industries, and purchased an old English style mansion in Bristol, which the real-estate agent has assured her is a great neighborhood.

Timothy Jackson Drake is born July 19th at nearly 3 in the morning squalling high into the night like a banshee. He is perfectly healthy and perfectly safe in Janet's arms.

It is only in the safety of their home, in the house Janet picked, because it was high on a hill for tactical advantage and had bullet proof glass nestled between quaint wood paneled windows, It is only in the heart of Drake Manor that Lara dares to Whisper her son's name

"Timothy Jackson Croft"

-------------------------

AU ALSO INCLUDES!

Badass Lara Croft being the cool mom TM

A family portrait of the Drakes, Including Janet, baby Tim, and a mysterious Jack Drake (who was a very discreet and well paid member of Gotham's theatre society, and who was also more then happy to pose as a rich ladies dead husband for a day)

A Socttish Nanny/Housekeeper with a very keen eye and discreet mouth who will not tell a soul that she is fairly sure she's employed by Lord Richard Croft's, eccentric billionares, missing daughter.

precocious and slightly British accented baby Tim who gets to have his Mom with him for 10 whole years! before she inevitably runs back off to save the world

Tim being unaware of his mother's past life beyond her name until the age of 13 when he becomes Robin and is able to actually find out what his mom's been protecting him from his whole life.

I imagine in this AU that eventually Trinity finally catches wind of where Lara is hiding and she has a big confrontation with them in New Jersey. It's way too close to Gotham and Tim for her comfort, she knows this is the only chance she'll get to control the chaos.

So she packs Tim up to move him into the dorms at Gotham Academy and promises she'll write and be home for his birthday in the summer. After she's finished her "company" business first of course.

Tim's confused but he trusts his mom, he gets unsigned postcards from all over the world and pins them above his bed in the dorm and goes to sleep trying to guess what country she's in every night.

The move to the dorm is kind of cool to Tim as well because it means he can start his plan to follow Batman and Robin in the city! (in this AU there's no way Lara wouldn't have noticed him sneaking out at 9, but Gotham academy security? totally oblivious)

Tim celebrates his 10th birthday with his mom at home, he has so many freaking questions about where she was! and she tells him outlandish stories about daring fights and cursed artifacts that he rolls his eyes at but enjoys none the less.

it isn't till he's 15 that his Robin work and his mom's adventures cross paths.

After so many years of close calls, of hiding bruises from his mom with same concealer she uses to hide her own wounds, of wondering if it was selfish to wish his Mom cared a little bit less about the world and would stay with him for more then a few weeks at a time. Finally it all comes to a head in the worst way. Lara Croft's latest adventure puts her right in the middle of a Bat Level investigation. It has Tim near loosing his mind with worry hoping his mom is alive and Lara having the worst freakout/Blow up of her life realizing her son has been putting himself in Danger every night she thought he was safe.

The Drake/Crofts are messy! Bad at communicating! And unfortunately the exact same kind of reckless and self sacrificing!

Fun food for thought:

Lara canonically is a killer, if you've played any of the reboot Tomb Raider series she can be pretty gruesome and efficient! Very cool! Jason would stan! Tim is kind of appalled! Lara is glad Tim's never killed, that he's never had to.

Lara still dies in this AU but it's in a big Trinity X Obeah Man X Captain Boomerang Cluster fuck where Lara finishes off Trinity and Obeah Man for good but looses her own life in the process. Tim is devastated, he feels like they were just starting to really be 100% transparent with each other before her death. Que Tim's not good very bad year!

if you've made it this far in my rambles here's a treat! I actually wrote a lil fuckin blurb for this!

preface: This the first time Robin and Lara Croft have ever met/are on the same mission.

___________

" mom!" Tim shouts, running before Bruce can even properly land the BatJet.

The old temple is ablaze, the ancient structure already half crumbled in on itself with what's left of it is spewing out clouds of jet black smoke.

Tim's mother limps out what was once the front entrance clutching at her ribs.

She's filthy, covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime. but she's got on a triumphant smile like the cat who got the cream.

" Mom!" Tim yells again watching as she does a double take at his choice of moniker.

Her mouth twists in a grimace as she stumbles and Tim dives under her arm quickly moving to support her left side.

Lara Croft meets the white lenses of Red Robin's eyes in confusion

" What'd you call me?" She slurs trying to blink away the smoke inhalation that makes it hard to focus and leaves her lightheaded.

Lara's right ankle which took the brunt of a very nasty dive from a very high perch, not 20 minutes earlier as she raced out of the Dead Kings Tomb, finally gives up the ghost and she pitches forward taking Red Robin with her.

He's young, she thinks, he's very young.

Before either of them can hit the ground Batman intercepts their fall hefting Lara into a secure hold.

Red Robin catches himself and latches onto Lara's hand.

He yanks off one of his gloves and tries to wipe some of the grime out of her eyes.

" Mum" he croaks this time, voice breaking nearly in half on the last syllable.

Lara furrows her brow, the cowl covers so much of this young man's face, from his nose too his brow bone, but his chin is startlingly familiar as is his absolutely atrocious British accent.

He reminds her terribly of Timothy.

" Tim" she says deliriously, Lara tries to smile but her eyes start to droop and her head lolls slack against Bruce's arm. She's clean out.

Tim makes an odd lunge and jerk movement pressing his fingers into her carotid artery to feel her pulse.

He's shaking, more wrong footed and anxious then Bruce has ever seen him.

Batman is extremely grateful when Nightwing comes up behind him and gently pulls his younger brother's hands away from his mother's comatose body.

" She's fine Red. We need to get her on board so we can get her some oxygen though, the smoke inhalation is getting to her. "

" Right" Tim says, still frozen in place. He shakes it off quickly " Right." he repeats pivoting in place and leading their small party through the remains of the ruins and back to the jet.

" I'll prep the med bay."

--------

pics or it didn't happen! (ps, if u wanna write, draw, or HC anything for this AU feel free my lads)

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seasaltandcopper · 11 months

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Summary: Teddy is a former thrall turned vampire hunter. After a decade of chasing her revenge, she gets wind of a group of Hunters keeping an all-too-familiar monster in their custody. Now finally, after ten years waiting, maybe she'll finally get some answers.

And much needed payback.

Pt 2 | Vampire Hunter AU

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Profanity, non-graphic mentions of torture, violence, imprisonment, starvation, dehumanization, 'it' as a pronoun (only used by one character), referenced past captivity and enthrallment

Teddy left Will to watch the truck while she made the journey into the compound alone to pick up the vampire. He seemed to understand, and didn’t argue or ask why. Just turned up the radio, and leaned back the passenger’s seat to nap until she showed back up to drive them home.

The Hunter Teddy had talked with on the phone—Brooks—led her on a meandering path through the repurposed factory. Past living and dining areas where many Hunters gathered in their off hours, and past the armory in the factory’s basement.

Down, again, to a sub basement that reeked of must and rot and worse. Long used to it, Teddy simply studied the layout, mapping her path back out to the surface, a habit ingrained after years of training in a place not that different from this one.

Brooks led them to what looked like an old walk-in industrial kiln, now fit and reinforced to work as a containment cell. The box was covered in locks and seals, both magical and mundane, layered intricately with each other in a masterful weave.

Brooks glanced over his shoulder as he worked to unlock the cage. “So uh, if you don’t mind me asking, why this one?” He shrugged, clearly asking out of boredom or mild curiosity. “We don’t get many transfer requests out here.”

“Got a score to settle with it.”

Teddy didn’t elaborate, but Brooks didn’t push. The man just nodded, clearly accepting that as answer enough. “Fair enough. Still one less leech I gotta keep tabs on.”

The final lock released with a dull clack, and the Hunter trailed a hand over the wards. They shimmered, pulsing a deep crimson before fading again. Reaching for the handle, Brooks paused long enough to glance at Teddy.

“It shouldn’t give you much trouble, long as you keep it restrained. It’s been here long enough it knows how this shit works by now. We’ve mostly been using it for training and educating new recruits. Put up a hell of a fight when we first processed it though.” Brooks shot Teddy a conspiratorial grin. “I mean, damn. Should’ve seen that motherfucker in the first couple weeks. Had the whole crew taking bets on how long it’d take to finally break it.”

Teddy’s face stayed emotionless, though her eyes flicked to meet the Hunter’s. “How long did it take?”

“Four months, one week, and three days is when Nadia officially called it but—” Shrugging, Brooks gave the door handle a firm yank. The heavy metal groaned, a deep metallic wail like a thing in pain, and swung open to reveal a box of pale firebrick. The creature lay chained on the floor inside. “—between you and me, I don’t think it has yet. You can see it in its eyes. The way it looks at you sometimes.” He shook his head. “Nah. Might be too weak to fight, and smart enough to mind its manners, but there’s a spark of something still in there. Don’t give that motherfucker an inch, unless you’re prepared for it to take it.”

Teddy stayed quiet long enough the Hunter just shrugged again and led them into the tiny room. He strolled inside, aiming a heavy kick at the creature lying curled up on the floor. The vampire grunted, chains rattling with the impact.

“Alright leech, up. You got a visitor.”

Slowly, the vampire moved to comply, pushing himself stiffly up and settling into a kneeling position, bound hands resting on his thighs. He didn’t look up or move beyond the subtle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed air Teddy knew for a fact he didn’t need.

Inclining his head, Brooks stepped aside to let Teddy take the floor.

She’d waited for this moment for over ten years. Before she’d even known she was waiting for it, before she’d been able to hope this kind of reversal could be possible for a vampire’s thrall.

Now that she was here, standing in the room with one of her former masters—one of the keystone pillars of Jericho’s coven, his bloody right hand, his former lover, one of only a handful left that had still been unaccounted for, and the only one left alive who could tell her what she wanted to know.

Teddy still couldn’t believe it was real.

This was a victory. Retribution a decade in the making. Closure.

She drew in a breath. Then stepped forward, heavy black boots thudding hollowly on the bricks. The vampire stayed quiet as she approached, kneeling and hunched forward like just keeping himself upright was a monumental effort. He stared at the filthy floor in front of his knees without acknowledging either of the two humans in the room.

If she hadn’t gotten confirmation of his identity beforehand, Teddy wasn’t sure she would’ve recognized him. Naked, emaciated, filthy, muzzled, bound in iron manacles and so covered in marks of abuse it was a challenge to find an untouched patch of skin. Even the color of his hair was impossible to judge from the matted, shoulder length mess it’d become.

Teddy held her breath. Silence followed. The kind of heavy, pressing quiet, like watching lightning flicker on the horizon before hearing the thunder. A static charge to the air.

She let out the breath in a rush, heart hammering in her chest. Desperate. Frantic. Hopeful.

Furious.

“Mal.” His name dropped from her lips like a condemnation, and that got his attention. He slowly lifted his head, meeting her gaze through a tangled curtain of hair with wary confusion. “Today’s your lucky day, bloodsucker. You’re coming home with me.”

AN: So this is apparently the second time I independently had more or less the same idea. Teddy (and Will) end up in a kind of antagonist role with Mal, and the story progresses as a back and forth between both these povs as they navigate this reversal, and all deal with the messy consequences of the choices they've made and the lives they lived.

If you really want to boil it down to basic tropes I suppose it'd be whumper turned whumpee?

I'm pretty happy with the direction this one is going, I am pondering continuing it. The next 'chapter' would be Mal's pov, so probably much heavier on the whump than this one lol.

Edit: added links to header since this is now an official series

#whump #vampire whump #whumper turned whumpee #original whump #my writing #salt ocs #salt oc: mal #salt oc: teddy #salt oc: will #i actually completely forgot i wrote this #it was older than the other excerpt of a similar idea I posted #apparently my subconscious really wants to put these two #angry feral cats in a room together and see what happens #sorry guys you're my science experiment now #misc aus #vampire hunter au

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rivetgoth · 1 year

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Man there is this weird historical revisionism that happens with terminally online “alt” posers where they like, assume that all the cool underground alt counterculture stuff of decades past were easily accessible within the mainstream and nowadays it’s been suppressed or hidden or is even entirely nonexistent in favor of the “lame” mainstream media. And like, I have said before and will say again and again that there is PLENTY to criticize regarding the entertainment industry and arts as a whole in the 21st century, it has not just been some forwards progression of positive change and improvement and I know that, but it also just frustrates me ENDLESSLY because the reality is the things y’all are idolizing were NOT mainstream. You were not guaranteed to walk down the street in the 80s and hear gothic rock and industrial or even more accessible synthpop that remains popular today, there was plenty of absolute shit music in the 80s lol. Movies were not just inherently better 20-30-40 years ago and in fact plentyyyy of major blockbuster hits absolutely sucked shit and there was an insane amount of garbage being manufactured by corrupt production companies. Fashion was not all cute GNC boys with long hair and eyeliner or whatever. It was not like some safehaven for queer gendernonconformity it was LITERALLY the AIDS crisis. And the stuff y’all are idolizing are now extremely popular in hindsight! Everybody knows Nine Inch Nails and The Cure and The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hellraiser! This is household name media!

I just constantly see posts that are like “back then there was UNDERGROUND COUNTERCULTURE EVERYWHERE and now all we have is TikTok and Taylor Swift and Marvel 💔😡” and honestly it makes you sound like clowns. You are not finding the underground counterculture because it is fucking underground. The stuff you’re consuming from years ago withstood the tests of time. But there were not goth clubs lining every street corner and cool cult classics coming out every fucking week back in the day lol. This stuff was considered underground, alternative, cult, etc for a reason. You are comparing the most successful underground media from decades ago with mainstream media of today and honestly all it actually reveals is that you don’t really care about keeping underground art alive and uplifting the artists who are doing so now in modern time, or even have the knowledge of how to do so. You aren’t finding today’s “underground” subcultures because THEY ARE UNDERGROUND. It takes effort beyond looking at what’s trending on social media or what’s getting major theatrical releases. You have to engage with music that is not even on Spotify, film that at best may run the festival circuit. And, frankly, some of y’all have wildly rose tinted glasses about what good art is and are judgmental as fuck of anything that forces you to expand your horizons-- Alt music genres have a huge amount of fusion within them now. Deal with it. Lots of y’all sound genuinely racist with your aversion to alt music drawing more and more inspiration from rap and hip hop. CGI is a relatively accessible and still very experimental art form with tons of potential and many poor or indie artists are experimenting with it. Deal with it. CGI is not inherently evil or ugly. Genres evolve and sounds change. Back then plenty of the experimental stuff that we find cool now was made with dogshit quality because it was just people scraping together the few resources they could afford to make something. You only think it’s better because it’s older lol. You are the alt TikTok NIN fan Hot Topic equivalent of people who think they were born in the wrong generation because their idea of the 50s is poodle skirts and milkshakes at checkered diners.

I would be less of a cunt about this topic if the result was not a staggering amount of people calling themselves fucked up deranged alt punk gothic freaks only to turn around and quite literally say that there is no longer an alternative/underground subculture and that capitalism has destroyed any semblance of independent or experimental art because they are not fucking looking for it. Which in turn shits on so many struggling indie creators desperately trying to get their art out there within an increasingly tumultuous, hostile, anti-artist landscape of capitalist modern society. Engaging with underground work does actually require digging for it. The underground work you are engaging with from the past is literally no longer underground. If you exclusively enjoy alt music from the 70s or 80s or exclusively enjoy oldschool cult classics that is FINE but I better not see “back in the 80s we had Cronenberg and Carpenter and now we only have Marvel and Star Wars :( Why did they get Bauhaus and now we only get Billie Eilish? Why is there no more community, no more subculture, no more actual interesting art?” as if these are normal comparisons and actual reasonable observations rather than an admittance of your lack of understanding of the way that underground art actually evolves or even a desire to seek it out. Problems with modern industries aside, with social media and the internet and the improvement of technology like personal cameras and digital art programs both creating and finding independent art is EASIER now than EVER in many ways. You can discover enough music to last you your entire life from the comfort of your IPHONE.

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thestylesindependent · 11 months

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We haven’t seen an artist like him since David Bowie

I’ve always considered myself to be somewhat of a music purist.

I still listen to albums from front to back, usually on an old record player I keep next to a collection of EPs that produces a lovely scratchy sound as original masterpieces from Revolver to The Queen Is Dead turn on its table.

Those albums aren’t just important because they are musical triumphs, they’re important because they had a profound impact on the industry and influenced cultural movements that impacted society as a whole.

Without the Beatles there is no Pixies, Nirvana or Oasis. Without The Smiths there is no Stone Roses, Radiohead or The Libertines. But what those bands did for women’s liberation, gay liberation, environmentalism and working class movements is equally profound. Both are bands whose popularity was supplanted by their artistry, giving them a unique position in the annals of music history.

For me, ever since the X Factor aired on our screens, fronted by Simon Cowell with his pearly white teeth, pristine T and Twickers jeans and shoes combination, it has been the absolute antithesis of all that.

The public flogging of people out to chase their dreams has seen huge audiences flock to the show over the years as they crown acts who manage to not butcher classic covers. As Michael Rosenberg (AKA Passenger) once put it, the show “murdered music” at the altar of a few “money-grabbing pricks”. It robbed us of an original Christmas Number 1 for decades until a countermovement propelled Rage Against The Machine to the top spot. And quite right, too.

But the show has, quite miraculously, given birth to a musician who, in my view, belongs in the same category as The Beatles, The Smiths and, pertainantly, David Bowie in status.

Harry Styles, formerly of One Direction fame, is quite obviously a popular bloke. He is about to perform in front of 90,000 people at Wembley for the fourth night after completing the highest selling Scottish stadium tour ever. He has 48.9 million followers on Instagram and his 2022 hit ‘As It Was’ was the most streamed Spotify song that year.

But his popularity should not be confused with his artistry.

Styles is more than just the hoards of screaming teenage fans and strings of celebrity endorsements we’ve come to know him for. He’s actually an icon both in music and in style, and increasingly an icon in modern movements of inclusiveness and self-worth.

During a concert in Houston, Texas, in 2018, he interacted with a ten-year-old boy in the crowd who had become overcome with emotion. Styles assured the young boy, “Crying is very manly. Being vulnerable is manly”. That is fucking classy, man.

His debut album artwork, which depicts the least tattooed area of his naked body half-submerged in a pastel pink bath, similarly conveys vulnerability, femininity, reflection, and intimacy, all of which are buzzwords for new youth movements that will only grow in acceptance and popularity.

When I look at his Love on Tour show I don’t see a teenage heartthrob. I see the Beatles. I look at his fashion and I see Bowie. I look at the messages he’s sending out to kids and I see Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. And I see the fact that nobody is talking about him in those terms as proof that he is actually woefully underrated.

Now bring on the hate…

#harry styles #june 2023

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against-forms-recognizable · 1 month

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Shower thoughts on the family structure

Despite its current dominance, the single-income household has never been viable on a mass scale, outside of a few decades in the West, due largely to imperialism extracting massive amounts of wealth from the rest of the world combined with technological monopolies which have since lapsed.

Historically, in households where there was one 'breadwinner' and one 'homemaker,' it was because child labor allowed it to be so, because the industry of the household (the breadwinning) was linked into the domesticity: if you were a freeholder farmer, growing your food, farming, what we would now think of as a job, was in the same class of labor as cooking and cleaning, it was all part of the same system, we did not think of one as a job and the other as not. So, as children are often expected to help out around the house today, children back then would be expected to help out in the other productive endeavors of the household, like farming, or other forms of work. And children didn't typically go to school. They started working with their parents from a very young age.

So you hear a lot of complaints about how difficult it is to maintain a single income household, it's because when children are present, they are being freeloaders, generally; all of the labor they would have done to contribute to the household is offloaded solely onto the parents. And when they are not present, well, that was never very achievable in the first place with one person not earning bread, right?

We switched to a system where children do not work but we did not accomodate the switch to that system by altering the family structure to include a higher amount of laborers per household, which would necessitate a higher amount of adults living together for the family unit than just one man one woman. And we got away with it for a long time because of competitive advantages provided by imperialism, the industrial revolution, and so on.

That is coming to an end, and people are finding out that having kids is now a miserable experience that often makes your life worse, because of the financial and time burdens now associated with shepherding someone through the legal and social structures constraining and defining 'childhood.'

It doesn't have to be, though. We can envision alternative household and family structures that make that burden much less intensive. For instance, instead of marriage, some alternative structure in which a group of best friends bind themselves together and agree to live with each other in a shared household, which future spouses and children are incorporated into. (repping Terra Ignota here)

Such a structure could have one homemaker and three breadwinners because the duties typically assigned to homemakers have been made much easier than previous by technology. After spouses are incorporated in, you could even have a division between homemaker and educator, with one person whose sole job in the household of ~8 adults + however many kids is cleaning, and one person who is solely dedicated to day to day parenting and schooling. And in this structure it doesn't really matter how many people in society are gay or trans or in relationships that will otherwise not produce children because every household will probably have at least one straight couple and they can have as many kids as the household can bear if they want, which is the same amount of kids as a household with 4 straight couples.

Also a necessary comment here about how abusive the pre-industrialization family unit often was, being a child often meant being forced to work on the threat of extreme physical abuse or starvation if you did not. That was not good. Returning to that would not be good. We need something new.

#the family #family structure #towards a better future #to create something you must first dream it #shower thoughts #original #terra ignota

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quinnsteria · 2 months

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Hoy Quarlow/Super Macho Man (MachoQuarlow) Headcanons 1/?

Citing this as part one in the title because I don’t trust myself not to talk about them more. Anyway this is just my insane scribblings about these old men since this ship has been rotting in my brain for months and I need to share them with the world

Anyway. Let’s begin with some background:

Hoy Quarlow is the age he’s said to be in the game: 78 years old

Super Macho Man is lying about his age. He’s not 27 but is instead approaching his early 60’s. He lies about it because, like a lot of typical big stars, he doesn’t want to be seen as older in fear of being discarded and out of the industry’s spotlight.

Hoy Quarlow and Super Macho Man joined the WVBA (Side Note: in my au it’s called the World Video Boxing Association because it was the first association to both broadcast the fights live, but also to package and sell recordings of the fights to consumers) around the same time. Although they weren’t there at the very-very beginning of the WVBA’s formation (since my au takes place in the current year and the timeline would be messed up), they’re both older so they were there before any of the other current boxers.

Hoy came from another boxing league but joined the WVBA once he realized his old league was very stingy on his paychecks. Because of the money the WVBA produced from both the recording sales and how much money they raked in for allowing the boxers to be as theatric as they wanted.

Although his hard work and determination led him to rising in the ranks, his sales were low. So, he studied what made boxers among him so popular: their personas. So, Hoy decided to also stretch his creative muscles too. He upped the ante and straight up brought a stick into the ring. It became a Hoy Quarlow staple. That, and the fact that he started to ditch the shorts and shirtless look to take on something with more personality.

Super Macho Man came in with that name all while being a scrawny kid. Believe it or not, but for a good while, SMM was considered a Glass Joe figure when he first started. When he got in the groove though and started upping his gains, he quickly rose in the ranks and grew into the name he gave himself.

He originally joined the WVBA because he wanted to be a movie star, anticipating that the sales of the WVBA recordings will get more eyes on him and he’d be recruited on for actual movies and not just fights. However, as he started to fight more, he became happier with the spectacle of being a WVBA boxer and the fame he gained, deciding to make his main goal staying at the top and not so much appearing in movies (although he’ll absolutely take a movie deal when offered).

Hoy and Macho were sorta aggressive to each other at first. Hoy, still riding high from his placement in his past league, looked down on a lot of other boxers. This is a character flaw that, of course, got resolved later in life (we can see this with how he acts with Birdie in the SNES Super Punch-Out!!), but it was definitely a flaw he had in life at one point. He saw Macho as full of himself and not yet having the skill to back it up. He correctly guessed that Macho was doing this for fame and judged him accordingly, seeing it as an unfit reason for joining the WVBA.

Macho saw Hoy as full of himself as well. He thought Hoy needed to get over himself and stop being so “needlessly mean.” Macho knew his pursuit wasn’t noble, but to him, it didn’t matter. He was so full of himself to pre-set his persona with actually being this, well…. a super macho man. He believed he’d grow into the name (which he did). He found it stupid how Hoy was only about a decade older and he was judging Macho this hard. Macho would often tell him straight up that one day, Hoy would be eating his words and watching Macho rise while Hoy himself sank down the ranks. This is only… uh… half true.

Right now, Macho and Hoy and right next to each other in the Special Circuit. Macho is Rank #1, right before Mr. Sandman (The WVBA Champion). Hoy is Rank #2 in the Special Circuit, right before Super Macho Man.

As they both aged, Macho and Hoy started to get along. With Hoy becoming sillier and way more relaxed, he was able to connect with Macho more. With Macho getting more full of himself, Hoy sorta saw himself in him and although he has fun with him, is trying to guide him away from the lonely life that being that high in ranks can bring. There’s all these camera flashes and people will be all over you and asking for deals, but they don’t love you.

OKAY… now that that’s over, I’ll be putting more headcanons under the cut. It’ll be more shippy, but it’ll still work as a “background section” if that makes sense that outlines their life together. I think this post should be in general about their background. Okay… cool.

I think Macho was kinda mixed up about his feelings for Hoy. Their relationship was definitely simmering for years, real rivals to fun friendly rivalry to friends to lovers. Macho never expected to fall for Hoy at all, and when he did, he didn’t know how to feel. He wondered what it’d be like to date another league member. Could he do that? What would the press do? Would the gossip magazines make Hoy look like a cougar… 🤨? Either way, he was nervous.

What also adds to it is that Macho is a pretty famous playboy. If he starts actually dating long-term (which he… actually kinda wants to explore with Hoy), how would that affect his reputation? With all these worries involving insecurities from outsiders, he was definitely indecisive with what he wanted to do. Hoy on the other hand… had different problems.

I fully subscribe to the “Hoy is Dragon Chan’s grandparent” headcanon. Hoy’s wife (aka Dragon Chan’s grandma, was married. They had a daughter who, just like her son, was a very determined kickboxer. She fell in love with Dragon’s father and they soon had a son, Dragon Chan. However, one fateful day, when Dragon was about 10 or so, his parents died in a fatal car accident (or at least that’s what my explanation is right now). Years later, Hoy’s wife died as well. She had a heart attack, although many say it was onset by a broken heart.

Dragon Chan, after getting kicked out of his kickboxing league while trying to live up to his mother’s legacy, joined the WVBA and gave him a place there. Dragon became popular quickly, and his ego became bigger (this is supported by his overconfidence in the ring and in pre fight rounds alongside his “chicken dance taunt” when he KO’s/TKO’s you). Dragon’s behavior only slightly reminds Hoy of his own ego at that age, and Hoy, although still giving advice to his grandson, knows that Dragon needs to discover his own path to humbleness.

Okay back to the tragedy of Hoy’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law. These tragedies caused Hoy to feel as if death followed him and anyone he loves. He blamed himself for all of their deaths, even if he had nothing to do with them. He was afraid to love again and to make another family, although this attitude is usually hidden by his now lighthearted personality.

Of course, this caused Hoy’s love life to become… confused I guess? Hoy was deathly worried of his family hurting even more. He was also worried for Dragon Chan, believing that there’s a chance he’d be mad that Hoy is trying to “replace” his grandma and pretend she never existed. Of course, Dragon doesn’t really care for that. His problem arises with Hoy’s dating choices when he realizes that it’s Super Macho Man of all people that Hoy is dating like huh that jerk grandpa? That loser? Cmon

I’ll probably elaborate on this in another post but the beef between Dragon Chan and Super Macho Man is so special to me. It’s like a family movie where the kid doesn’t like their new step-dad except the kid is a 22 year old grandchild who can actually kick Macho’s ass if he wanted to (and he does)

I think the first person to actually make a move was Super Macho Man. Macho was able to catch Hoy in the locker room after a fight and he asked Hoy if he would like to “hang out” sometime together, outside of WVBA mixers or some other thing, of course.

Hoy found it cute. He sorta laughed softly at it at first before he saw Macho’s dejected face. He realized it was genuinely series and he kinda flushed. Definitely went kinda quiet with an “O…Oh,” before trying to think of what to say next.

He agrees by the way. Though I think in another post I’ll elaborate

Annddddd that’s all I have for now! Thank you for reading and I’m sorry it was so long! These guys have been in my head for a bit now woah

#punch out #hoy quarlow #super macho man #machoquarlow #dragon chan #sorry for the ramblings I’m insane #quinn speaks #long post

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