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#i just think society puts really high worth on those things
theresattrpgforthat · 5 months
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Hi! I'd like to run a game that's Jane Austen-esque or a political/social drama with fantasy elements. Think A Court of Fey and Flowers, except I don't want to subscribe to their channel so I haven't actually seen it. Fairy settings in particular would be appreciated! Thank you in advance
THEME: Political and Social Drama
Hello, I think I have a really fun collection of options for you to take a peek at. We’ve got fairies, we’ve got secrets, and we’ve got drama!
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Fey Court Chaos, by Mabbly.
Fey aristocrats party the equinox away. You have been invited by the most prestigious monarchs of this wild magical land. Parlay with potential allies, humiliate your enemies, & impress those worth impressing–but avoid getting kicked out yourself!
Fey Court Chaos is a party-based tabletop role-playing game designed to let you escalate a royal ball into dramatic highs and lows. You will need a pool of dice or coins to play. Any kind will do, but the fancier the better!
This is a game about trying to make a name for yourself while possibly ruining the status of your companions. You’ll wager points of Reputation every time you do something risky, with the risks rising depending on the status of the person you’re interacting with. Success means a rise in reputation or learning a juicy secret. Failure means losing someone’s favour, or even giving one of your own secrets away! If you love fantasy faerie settings, this game gives you all the basics, and has advice for the game runner as well. You should definitely check it out!
The 147th Annual Necromancer’s Ball, by Meghan Cross.
You are cordially invited…
The 147th Necromancer's Ball is a one page TTRPG about necromancy and feeling fancy for a GM and 3-6 players played with a single d6.
You are necromancers attending The 147th Necromancer's Ball, dressed to the nines with your familiars in tow. You are ready to have a wonderful time, but more than that you are ready to show your rival once and for all that you are better than them by displaying your social prowess (and maybe even winning Necromancer of the Year.)
But not everything goes according to plan when a party crasher shows up to ruin the evening for everyone - and it is up to you to stop them and save the party!
This is a game all about being dramatic as fuck and also petty as fuck. You can roll Necromancy when you want to do magic or command the undead, and you roll Feeling Fancy when you engage in social entanglements or navigate the ball. Showing that you’re the Necromancer of the Year won’t be easy, especially once a party crasher shows up to complicate things - and possibly steal your chances of winning!
If you love silly games, as well as taking time to describe just how drop-dead (pardon the pun) gorgeous you look, this might be your game.
Avalon Society, by Martian Machinery.
Avalon Society is a game about courtly love and intrigue, and the conflict between passion and duty. You'll play knights, lords, ladies, upstarts, pretenders, unknowns, or possibly a changeling or a sorcerer. Pull swords out of stones, break curses, ascend to the round table, duel your rivals, or even fall in love with them. It’s up to you.
Avalon Society is a setting created for Good Society, which is the game of social intrigue, and in fact, the game that helped build A Court of Fae and Flowers! Good Society takes place in the same time as Jane Austen’s novels, but Avalon Society replaces character roles and family backgrounds in order to represent an Arthurian story. The court also shifts seasonally, which feels very reminiscent of a fairy court. The biggest downside - you also have to buy Good Society in order to use this supplement.
Townhouse Dracula, by Tenbear.
You have the opportunity to attend a dinner party at the one and only Townhouse Dracula. Here you will vie for Dracula’s favour, which includes eternal life and power beyond your imagination.
To decide who gains this power Dracula puts party guests through a gauntlet of past memories. Guests do their best to impress Dracula and convince them that they would be an asset to have in the Dracula lineage. 
Townhouse Dracula presents the players with scenarios that their characters will have to navigate, trying to piece together Dracula’s memories when they might not have all the answers.
This is first and foremost an improv game, so it’s good for people who like coming up with pieces of a story on the fly. You’ll get tokens as rewards for being funny, clever, bold, kind, etc. At the end of the game, you’ll tally your score and determine whether or not you become part of Dracula’s lineage. If you like the mysterious allure of vampires and want to stretch your storytelling muscles, you might want to check out this game.
Tax Cuts and Pixie Dust, by Weird Blue Yonder.
The home of a sordid assortment of terrible woodland spirits doing terrible things in a desperate bid to sit atop the Fairy Throne.
You are those woodland spirits, and election season is just around the corner…
Tax Cuts and Pixie Dust is probably the most political game on this list. It uses pretty standard faerie tropes - you can be an elf, a leprechaun, a banshee… even a giant! All of you are supposed to be part of the same party, but you all secretly want the throne!
This is a game about dirty politicians, with the humour and camp turned up to allow you to get really ridiculous with it. The resolution system involves building small dice pools of d6’s, tallying successes to see how you fared. The GM is responsible for presenting scenarios and complications, which are present in a few roll tables. At the end of elections you vote on each player’s position in the new court, and that’s game!
Butterfly Court, by mishagw.
In Butterfly Court, you will play as a member of the titular Butterfly Court, the court of the monarchy of the kingdom Praecia. This is a court intrigue game that uses the No Dice No Masters system, based on Avery Alder's Belonging Outside Belonging games.
This is a storytelling, roleplaying game, where players portray members of a court, but not necessarily the monarch or the heir. Instead, the game focuses on everyday lives, intrigue, relationships, obligations, and myriad other concerns of the regular people in the court: nobles, but also staff, servants, artists, and other people that make court life possible.
Butterfly Court doesn’t dictate who you are exactly, but it leaves a broad space for different kinds of supernatural beings. So if you want faeries, this game is certainly able to take place in a faerie court. The game is designed to pit your characters into situations that are difficult for the country at large: rebellions, scandals, famine, crime, etc. You also create factions that have different methods and priorities.
Everything that you create together is shared communally, because Butterfly Court uses a GM-less, diceless game system. This means that you’ll each have shared authority over where the story goes next, although there is a cycle of play that helps you move from one scene to the next. I think that the idea of this being a game about different factions navigating political turmoil has the potential to be represented really well through a collaborative system like this.
Games I've Recommended in the Past
If you want something more like Jane Austen, you might like Le Bon Ton! If you like equal parts adventure and social intrigue, then Household might be for you.
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razorblade180 · 1 month
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Profits!!!
Paimon:We got a fresh batch of potions ready!
Aether:*writing* Put them front and center!
Jean: *walks up* Ummmm
Aether:Hmm? Oh hi! I was wondering if I’d see you.
Jean:Hello. Hard at work I see. *looks around* By a lot…. I just got a report back from Lisa. I knew things were in good hands but can you explain how this gateway into common alchemy is profiting five times its worth? Every time you come to town our budget increases.
Aether:Yeah I think I finally got a formula for success here! It’s all about where we send them. *shows paper* Sales to Mondstadt get the standard cost that breaks even considering how close clients are and the frequency.
Jean:We are selling them .25% under their actual value in Inazuma?
Aether:Inazuma’s are hesitant about trying things out of traditional practices plus the long trip there may reduce potency. However, we don’t really take a loss because I have them delivered by a reliable courier who gives us discount, as well as have them get shipped by a friend named Itto. He’s actually pretty used to the back and forth.
Jean:If that’s the logic, how are we getting away with selling the potions 1.5 times their price in Liyue? They also care about traditions.
Aether:Because Ningguang agreed to endorse us, and Beidou deliverers the shipments. Those are the only seals of approval we need.
Jean:*looks at Lisa*
Lisa:I didn’t tell him to expand. Our cutie has such an eye for business that even Master Diluc went in on a joint business venture.
Jean:*skims paper* We mark up the Sumeru prices by 2.5 times their actual value!?
Aether:I know that might look evil buuuuut *flips page* 80% of the stock that goes there by a merchant named Dori who’s incredibly rich. I’m positive she’s buying them to sell for at least triple their original worth. In the grand scheme we’re getting a bigger net gain than she is on paper but she’s also winning by knowing who and where to sell to. Also desert shipments are handled by a very trustworthy Mercenary.
Jean:And as for Fontaine being double the market price?
Aether:Mondstadt’s potions are approved by Furina de Fontaine. Not only does that attract the high society over there to buy, but it covers the for transport via Gaming as well as the transfer support from the Spina. Don’t worry, I made sure everything is perfectly legal.
Jean:(This is the market project all over again.) Aether, you didn’t have to start an empire, like…at all.
Aerther:I didn’t mean to do it. I just know people.
Paimon: *holds mora bags* Powerful people!
Jean:Well, I leave it all to you then. To think I’m able to redo our budget so freely is like a fever dream. Perhaps the extra funds can go into better training equipment and armor overhaul?
Kaeya:Or we can buy more horses. Just a thought.
Lisa:Do you miss your work that much?
Kaeya:I miss the title speaking for itself.
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ghouljams · 5 months
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Gnnh. Mii brainrot intensifies.
I am in love with your Viking!AU, because I’ve always been fascinated by this civilisation. This is probably why I’ve been having thoughts about a völva!reader (völur for men), a prophetess in Germanic paganism, the kind of woman who was told to be feared and revered by both mortals and gods alike because of their inextricable link to Fate. Even Odin was said to consult them. They had a powerful role in politics, as well as in everything spiritual and magical in their society. From what I’ve read, women already had a high status in the societies of the North (I like this name, for some reason - it gives them a mystical and powerful aspect in my eyes), and those northern witches were thought to be descendants of the Jötun. Their stories are really interesting ; if you haven’t read about them already, I think you would really like them.
So, to come back to the Viking!AU, I could really see one of the guys with a völva as a darling. For some reason, I immediately picture Price or Ghost ; maybe because I am biased and love them so much, but probably also because of the fact that I could see them to be almost « worshipping » their darlings. It would probably be challenging for them to try and get the attention of such a powerful and mystical being, but I could see the end result to be worth all the efforts and frustration (and the whole « I’m so needy for her » part too).
Perhaps they would stumble upon her as she is praying the gods (Freyja, Odin and Sif were apparently the deities dedicated to the völva/völur, mainly the first one as she is deeply associated with all kinds of magic). It could be a beautiful, mesmerising scene filled with things bringing all 5 senses (and maybe more ?) to attention. Since those priestesses were threatened by the rise of Christianity, the warriors would probably feel the need to protect such a sacred being. I could see this character getting close to the Healer!reader, discussing herbs and magical recipes.
I hope I’m not being too overwhelming. I just love paganism and magic so much, everything about it is so interesting.
As always, lots of love on you Friend. You may not be too well, but know that I’m not really either, and that your writing always makes things better for my little head. Please, take care and stay safe <3
As usual y'all find ways to engage me special interests and also
Mii, you're putting Witch in the Viking au. You're giving me another opportunity to use my favorite special little girl who I am insanely brain rotten for. Obviously I'm going to put her with Price, obviously. Although I do love Ghost as a worshiper.
I will disclaimer, the viking au is not magical. There's no "real" magic that the völva!reader could perform, like Witch does. But from a religious standpoint I do fucking love it.
Price obviously is heading, captaining, the expedition Soap is on. Big scary viking man who sits around pissed because he's gotta be away from home and out from under the blessed eyes of his lovely völva. He's good at his job, he loves his job, loves his boys, but he misses the pretty priestess back home. Of course you never give him the time of day, too busy communing with the gods and doing your religious duties, managing politics and all that. You probably don't even notice him lingering around the temple, trying to find the right words to ask if you'd like to share a meal with him. Have you noticed that he always brings you something from his trips? Do you pet the soft furs he brings you and think of him? Do you run your fingers along the ridges of the shells he gives you? Do you know him? Do you want to?
Oof lots of pining in this au. The viking au is for pining.
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arpmemething2 · 2 months
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Batman the Animated Series sentence starters
Send one for my muse’s reaction.  Feel free to change pronouns as needed.
"All right, scum bucket, it's you, me, and thirty stories. You're gonna tell me exactly what I want to know."
"That's one way to remove a splinter."
"I have this natural immunity against poisons, toxins, the pain and suffering of others. Go figure."
"I failed you. I wish there were another way for me to say it. I cannot. I can only beg your forgiveness, and pray you hear me somehow, someplace... someplace where a warm hand waits for mine."
"Last time we met, you tried to throw me off a building."
"If you think I've been bad news before..."
"Old and infirm as you are, I'd trade a thousand of my frozen years for your worst day."
"What kind of a saboteur uses a six-thousand dollar Metronex to set a time bomb?"
"I never counted on being happy."
"A strong mind can fuel a frail body."
"I need a new car."
"There's no way you could have escaped from that explosion! How did you get out?"
"I'm gettin' too old for this."
"I suppose what they say is true: society is to blame. High society."
"Succumb to the fear!"
"Gee, it's amazing the things you find in people's glove compartments."
"Children and guns do not mix. Ever."
"I'm having a BAD DAY! I'm sick of people trying to shoot me, run me over or blow me up!"
"They're not stupid, and it's your party."
"Aren't they just the cutest family you've ever seen?"
"It's midnight darling, time to unmask."
"It's gonna be one of those nights."
"When you look too long into the abyss, the abyss looks back through you."
"If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"
"You've got to admit there's something between us."
"There's always time to heal."
"I didn't realize you'd taken up listening to rock and roll."
"Choosing a weekend date?"
"I don't believe in fate."
"An entire city screaming in fear. I wonder if we'll be able to hear it."
"Some thought I'd gone mad. Others thought I always had been. And so they put me where they thought I belonged."
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no tales."
"This city would fall apart without you!"
"I love that trick but I can never make it work."
"Taking up video games, are we?"
"I hate it when he does that."
"You are strong... but not strong enough!"
"They don't make straight jackets like they used to. I should know."
"He's not samurai. He's NINJA. They're spies and assassins. Their only code is to get the job done."
"A pixel is worth a thousand words."
"I am vengeance! I am the night!!"
"And who says opera has to be boring?"
"He always knew how to make an exit."
"Hey! Do I hit your kids? Oh, actually I do..."
"Now boys, didn't your mommies teach you that's not the way to get a lady's attention?"
"Not the robot theory again."
"Freeze, maggots! You're all under arrest!"
"You said you'd never let me go home!"
"What was she before she went bonkers?"
"This used to be a beautiful street. Good people lived here once."
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, and made a small profit, than never to have loved at all!"
"Chance is everything. Whether you're born or not, whether you live or die, whether you're good or bad. It's all arbitrary."
"But you've forgotten the first rule of comedy: if you have to explain the joke... THEN IT ISN'T FUNNY!"
"I told you not to speak!"
"Coming through! Hot stuff!"
"The snow is beautiful, don't you think? Clean, uncompromising..."
"When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping."
"What a pleasant surprise. Though I should warn you - breaking and entering is against the law."
"This could cause a stampede to pork."
"You really know how to put the fun in funeral."
"You ought to put your toys away."
"Would not, could not... would not, could not... oh, could not join the dance."
"Home. I never thought that could sound so good."
"Then I'll see you in your nightmares!"
"As the Bard said, "the fault lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.""
"You know what I'd have given for a death scene like this. Too bad I won't get to read the notices."
"He's a little protective of all this. I think he likes bats better than people."
"All your power and money has bought you an empire of misery."
"Don't try this at home kids!"
"I feel ill."
"Well, that was fun! Now, who's for Chinese?"
"You're about to fall out of orbit."
"Why can't he ever stay dead?"
"They can bury me in the ground, as deep as they like. But I'll grow back. We always grow back. Don't we, baby?"
"All men have something to hide. The brighter the picture, the darker the negative."
"You thought I was just another bubble-headed blond bimbo! Well, the joke's on you, 'cause I'm not even a real blonde."
"When the wage slaves start acting like they own the place, it's time to pull the plug."
"I've been known to be foolish, but ain't nobody calls me a liar and goes to bed happy."
"Since you don't like my side-splitters, how 'bout a skull-splitter?"
"This is kidnapping, mister! Last time I checked, it was highly illegal!"
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liamtheshark7 · 25 days
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My essay on my Fanny button might be autistic
Note: I have been thinking about this so much and now want to share it because I 1) seen others say the same thing 2) seen that the bbc ghosts fans won’t get mad over headcanons about autism and have a lot of them so that’s cool I will say now
Why Fanny button might be autistic 
In this essay I will tell you why I think Fanny button from ghosts is autistic and I think she’s a high masking autistic. It won't be a great essay but hopefully will get my point across. I researched high masking in women for this because that’s a specific thing and I really think it’s her I think it really explains a lot of her because Fanny can sometimes be misunderstood by other characters In the show and people who watch the show and there is a reason for this, fanny puts up such a character sort of like she acts so intense all the time and then it’s hard for people to really see past this but what I think happened to make her like this was that when she married George she started masking a lot more because we see in the Christmas special “he came” she was very different before she is very talented at math autistic people can be very talented in something and love it a lot a special interest perhaps* but she was told she can’t do this it’s for men now when I’m thinking about this I’m thinking a lot of this was impacted by the time she was in and being a woman in this time which is why I researched autism in women specifically masking is alot more common in AFAB people because of society alot so it can still apply here it’s just worth noteing the context and differences in society speaking of the time she was in an how society was then okay a common thing alot of autistic people say or feel is “its like everyone was given a book on how to be human at birth and mine was lost” that didn't attuly happen but that's just what if feels like and this is mainly referring to socialy but fanny did attuly get this book there where rules told to everyone then about how to act how to communicate and act around people how your ment to seem etc so when she married George and he did not love her she thought “I need to follow there rules better if I follow them completely he will love me” and she did she learnt these rules and followed them masking. What makes alot of people who may think Fanny is autistic think this is how hard she finds it to accept change now I have looked at the criteria for getting an autism diagnosis and she dose fit it the only thing is that traits had to have been there since you where a child and we can't know that because we never see her as a child for the sake of this we will assume she did so this here is the first part which is social.
A. Need to have persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history
Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.
So to fit the first part of the autism criteria you need to have or have had persistent struggles I'm each of those areas as it says above so I will go through them now 
On this one I want to go back to thing thing about “it feels like everyone was giving a book at birth on how to be human and mine got lost” referring to social interactions but Fanny did literally have this book there where rules for social interactions and if you followed them then your doing good which is why I think she used these rules to mask but even if someone who is autistic is following all these rules sometimes and I dont actually know how i just heard that people who aren't autistic can still just tell that there is something different there is no way we can see this unfortunately because we only have bits of her life but we know she did have friends who she would mainly talk gossip with but moving on to her death which we have of course much more to go off she dose say very out of pocket things one example which I think alot of people think she was purposely trying to insult Alison but I think she was not really trying to do that she was saying amd making a point of how Alison seemed and that she was not lady like and following the rules whatever but i don't think Fanny saw an attualy problem with what she was saying and this is the “when you first arrived here I though you where a prostitute” she doesn’t really see how this could upset or offende someone she just speaking her mind with no filter she dose not have a filter even when following the rules she was given she still says things which she didn't realise she could not or would not be appropriate so I still think yes to this she dose communication in a strange way with the other characters she can be quite blunt and rude not knowing she is being because it fits within her rules that she knows. Another thing worth noting here is that fanny is closest with the captain who is also quite obviously autistic I think*2 and neurodivergent*3 people tend to become friends with eachother like that.
The main thing I can think of for this is In fanny's body language she always has the same pose same face on she dose notice others body language because she does give out to Alison from doing things not like a lady but again that is most likely learnt she learnt this is how a lady is meant to have her body language and she learnt exactly what to do and look out for when they did the panto for Alison she could not do a different character for fairy God mother and evil step mother the tone the body language was exactly the same despite them being obviously very different characters.
Fanny shows little interest in forming friendships with her fellow ghost, Martha Howe Douglas even says on the podcast that she doesn't like any of them I don't think this Is fully true but it is worth noting also note that many things said on that podcast where also not fully correct I think so it is to be taken with a grain of salt, Fanny definition of friends is “peers and intellectual equals” but a better definition is “a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection” so she dose not understand friendships fully, I also think she tends to misinterpret others relationships for example when you read the book you can see how obvious George's affair with the butler and gardner was she also panicked a lot when she was briefly attracted to Mike she made it alot more dramatic than it really was it took her a while to catch on to the fact that she was being just as bad as Betty in the final and she did not notice the captain being gay either most of the ghosts noticed this. She again dose not fully know when she's being rude I don't think she doesn’t know what is and isn't appropriate to say to Alison and the other ghosts, she also viewed Alison as her own daughter which I did notice that but some people did not it was not the most clear on account of how rude she was to Alison so alot of people did not notice she dose not know why this matters and maybe thinks she's being A lot more obvious as a mother then she really is. Said before but diffrent context when they where doing the panto she could not do a difference between he fairy God mother and evil step mother very different character.
As well as that you also need to have three of the four traits I will put next 
B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history 
Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).
Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take same route or eat same food every day).
Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).
Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g. apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).
I will now go through if and when I think she shows these behaviors
So a lot of the ghosts do things like this more obvious ones would be the Captain, Mary and Robin I am being honest I don't notice these as much in Fanny but let's go through it, one of the main things people notice is in the captain and all the noises he makes mary pat and fanny do this also (+Robin echolalia) Mary more than Pat but Fanny does this also!! Listen to her there's a video somewhere on YouTube titled the sound of fanny or something she does the same sort of stimming noises that they do another thing this is a bit of overthinking perhaps but the way fanny stand her posture the way she holds herself if you look at it she does almost the same one all the time and it's like she holds her own hands and has then on front of her and she sort of moves around the hands now if you copy this posture and you hold your hands tight and you sort of move around the hands it's like hers so I think she's holding her hands tight she's trying to keep still but still moving around that suppressing stims??? Maybe I think so she also if you look close at her hands her thumb moves every so often and sort of very small strokes her hands this could be the stim that got out of her trying to suppress it if you look at her and if you look at the captain in that scene where havers gives him the letter about France surrendering and he runs to the window he is quite obviously If you watch it then you watch him as a ghost, suppressing stims the feel of that scene is very similar to the feel of fanny's scenes. Also when she was combing robins hair could also be a stim thing feeling textures can be a stim.
 This is why people usually if they do think Fanny is autistic think it, she can not handle change like at all it can not affect her ons bit and she can't deal with it she get really stressed and really annoyed about it she can not handle it, she does come around to change eventually for example the land being sold she gets very upset about it then she goes off she calms down she talks about it to Thomas and then she is okay she has a big reaction is very upset by it and then she regulates and eventually accepts it. I also think her insisting Alison follows all her rules to be a lady could be part of this. It is common in autism to care a lot about rules and get stressed if they are not followed but not everyone is like this. I definitely think that's part of this as well as other things. When mary got sucked off she panicked alot she first did not process it which delayed processing can also be a thing with autism I do think she shows this sometimes for example when Alison got pushed it took her a bit and then she got mad but that was also her thinking alot and being lost in thought, she doesn't really process it until Mary's moving on starts bringing up change in her life and now she realize something is missing this is going to be different and her friend is gone she has no idea what to do with herself after realizing this she just panics.
Fanny most definitely has fixations I think one of them was murder she wrote which she was very fixated on for a while so much that she brang it into her own life (death) if it weren't for that they would not have known about Lucy I do this also I try bring whatever I'm currently fixated on into every aspect of my life every project I do I learn new things because of it it really makes its way into your life, I also with Dante Dante the stuffed dog I'm not sure is that an object because it was a dog but now is it still a dog or an object dog or and object/dog? But yes, saying you love a stuffed dog more than anything In the world I think is an unusually strong attachment to a thing. Another note is that she is very good with animals. She had a lot and I think I heard that that is common with autistic people but I'm not sure.
Now this one is a bit harder because she is dead but I said before but combing robins hair sensory seeking feeling textures she very much did not like it when she had to go I'm the basement because she did not like the plague ghosts or the environment for sensory reasons could be both this one is more hard because they don't feel everything In death so I do not know.
So Fanny Button dose fit the autism criteria the best I can try prove that I am not a doctor I just really love ghosts and i think this explains a lot about her character 
In conclusion I believe fanny button is autistic I believe she fits the criteria for autism and I think she is specifically a high masking autistic I think without that detail it doesn't make sense but I love this theory because it makes her make sense and it helps you to think about her character better.
Goodbye 
Notes 2
*the maths thing was never mentioned after that though but you can have multiple special interests so I could be that and something else like maybe all her ladylike rules or her pets gossip don't know
*2 I also think mary is autistic specifically they all have traits lots of them and I'd say I could do this for most of them but it is worth noting, noting that's all we can completely ignore it after this but in TV shows the characters they are people but they are different then people so it's much easier to see autistic traits and traits of anything like for example personality disorders that maybe if they were a real person it would not be the same but that's it I love all the theory's regarding this and they all fit and make sense 
*3 yeah they are all neurodivergent probably also I think Fanny and the captain are very similar and show a lot of there autistic traits in the same way or similar 
hopefully all this information is correct thank you for reading if you have anything to add I would love to hear it
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miizzllaneous7 · 2 years
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You know I’m convinced after 20 years the Gothams elite, and high society around the world that interacts with Bruce Wayne whether through his company or personally has to be at least suspicious or absolutely certain Bruce is playing everyone. And Bruce knows they know. Or is at least suspicious they know, and he operates on that line of thought.
The public doesn’t know though. It’s a very tight knit unspoken fact amongst those who know, and they don’t actively talk about it. At least, they don’t talk about it explicitly unless behind closed doors. I mean, Bruce never really completely dropped the act before, he’s always committed to the role and if he does drop it he does it all at once. But the important part is that the ‘act’ is still too different from Batman for anyone to think he’s actually Batman. The closest high society has ever gotten to it, is probably Bruce’s all too precise or lethal verbal jabs, that are always subtle enough they’re usually brushed to aside by the public because HIMBO. But the rich? They’re smart enough to catch on to his hidden meanings, or if they’re lucky they can catch the gleam behind his eyes as he decides to. They have their theories, and know to look for it. It’s one of those things that just click when you put the pieces together. Yet, their conclusion is never that he’s Batman.
No one tries to expose him, it’s not worth it and no one would believe them. It’s the epitome of “Do you know why I told you?—Because no one would ever believe you.” It would always backfire if they try anything, because at this point Bruce has to have the entire public wrapped around his finger and they don’t even know it.
The biggest catch of them all: no one’s sure what he’s doing. Is he a secret mob boss? Is he a guy with genuine intentions? An ally or enemy? I think the most interesting part is the psychology of it all, depending on where you are in that spectrum and what they want to see from him. No matter what happens, it’s a gamble, no one’s exactly sure. If it comes out he funds the Justice League those who think he’s a vile person would just interpret it as “He has the Justice League in his pocket” Which is probably hella intimidating and only cements his power over these people. But even then, no one’s entirely sure what his intentions are and where his loyalties lie.
This earns his spots in a bunch of things, like secret auctions or private poker rooms where all the sketchy/normal rich people stuff happens where you kind of just gossip or chill with probably one of the if not the most dangerous people in the world. Or make business deals and stuff. The farther you branch out from Gotham, the less information and intimate meetings you get via Galas and parties with the man, so there’s more and more misinformation or assumptions with less and less information to go off of. If he goes to perhaps, Europe, and meets some wealthy shady people, they may by off chance assume he’s similar to them because of rumours. I’m doubtful they’d done a lot of research or remember him explicitly since he’s outside of their blast zones. Unless of course, they see him as a potential competitor, so someone’s gotta be an expert on everything legal or public they can find. Which would show for some interesting interactions I assume. It’s like a game of chess but Bruce is bluffing his way through, yet has the bite to backup the bark. He’s got a ton of cards but no one knows what they are, and it can be both his advantage and his undoing. A constant walk on eggshells he’s dancing through gracefully, because he can’t afford not to.
He can probably attend all of these functions easily. Whenever he feels like it, coming and going. It’s like Matches Malone but higher up in the scale instead of with the goons, he’s getting in with the top dogs. Its in a much bigger grey zone, more deadly I’d say since he has to tread lightly. If he makes a wrong move everyone will realize he’s not an ally and turn on him, taking away his best source of intel gathering. As for the functions he can get into itself? Think of how organized crime bosses use saunas for meeting places and illegal activities between those who rank high since actual meetings can be easier to get a drop on.
Once again! No one questions whether or not he’s Batman, why would they? He never quite completely breaks character, so no one’s completely sure what his real personality is, or if this is just it. He’s still very Brucie, but in a suave and slick way in the right company, layering on the Himbo when in more public areas. This way he caters to both sides of the theories people have. It still feels impossible to connect the Batman and Bruce Wayne together as one person, so they don’t even consider that as an option.
Plus the people he knew before becoming Batman must have remembered him before. He only started the persona after. But again, that doesn’t necessarily connect him to Batman. To some, people can chalk it up to “People change.” to others, it could be a calculated measure to keep an eye on. Then there’s the people who didn’t know him before, completely fooled, but even at least some of them have to start to catch on sooner or later. Bruce Wayne’s in the spotlight, always has been always will be. People vie for his attention, he has eyes on him everywhere. People are gonna notice things! Now what they draw away from those things as a conclusion? That’s the interesting part, it’s subjective based on who you’re asking I can imagine.
I can see the Batkids sometimes drawing parallels of Bruce for fun, just teasing but it also makes sense. Bruce acting like he’s a crime lords or something from an outside point of view. Like seriously, think about how easy it is to come across as a Crime Boss when he’s just doing his own thing. The random phone calls he picks up, the several phones he probably has on his person, the fact he’s freaking jacked, always dressed to the nines or intimidatingly/businessy not a hair out of place. Even when he’s ‘drunk’ or intensely stressed and disheveled for whatever reason, it looks intentional even if it isn’t. Similar to how people intentionally go for the bed hair look. He’s probably looks sketchy as hell over time if you’re not in the know about the Batman thing.
Going back to the catch, what is Bruce Wayne doing? Where does his loyalties lie? What does he do? It adds to the confusion. There’s always that one question every socialite—particularly those in private groups that speculate about Bruce based on their own experiences or observations—asks.
What is Bruce Wayne?
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posletsvet · 6 months
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My thoughts keep circling back to some similarities I spotted a while back between the Hasaba twins and Nobara. There's a handful of them, really, from what I can gather -- even if we exclude the fact that both the twins and Nobara originally come from the countryside, which would be the most obvious coincidence.
Take, for instance, Nanako and Nobara's matching personalities: they both are outspoken, confident, brash and boisterous, with somewhat an air of a typical school bully around them. At first those traits might come off as off-putting and offensive, but when you delve deeper it becomes more apparent that such abrasive attitude might just serve as a defense mechanism of sorts and what it really shows is that these girls were taught, for better or worse, how to stand up for themselves.
Then there are curious similarities between their innate techniques. Techniques of all three of them require usage of inanimate objects, and in both Mimiko and Nobara's cases it's an effigy of the target, a voodoo doll -- whether stuffed one or made of straw. Their techniques also allow them to manipulate targets from afar.
Nobara also shows unusually high tolerance of pain, and it's something that keeps bothering me. And though we know that she was trained to be a sorcerer by her grandmother, and being a sorcerer involves adopting a certain mindset, that's not something one can simply order oneself to get used to.
One other thing that doesn't seem to escape my mind is how Nobara was only ever drawn to outsiders back in her childhood, and then proceeded to look up to Maki, finding it in particular admirable how she withstands the oppression of her own family. I guess it's also worth mentioning how Nobara doesn't believe people are excused just by the circumstances they grew up in. Again, I don't think that's an attitude one can afford without facing those hardships oneself.
So what if all the similarities really stem from the background they, Nobara and the twins, come from? I doubt that being a jujutsu sorcerer in a small, enclosed society such as found in a village in the middle of nowhere is a pleasant experience. People get nosy. They also get intolerant towards something they're not prepared to include in their tiny circle. We've already seen how an outsider unwilling to assimilate, Saori, was ostracized and driven out -- and she was just a city girl. We've also seen what being a sorcerer in an environment full of narrow-minded superstition costs.
How much bias and bigotry might Nobara face? Isn't it why she jumped at the first given opportunity to leave for the city? Why she only ever made friends with newcomers to the village? Why she considered all locals to be at least at some degree insane?
I don't know where I'm going with all this, really. If anything, it serves as yet another example of how the conservative mentality of those in charge of jujutsu society harms its sorcerers. Where both sides could've benefited from cooperation, non-sorcerers are left to ignorance and the misplaced antagonism towards sorcerers which that ignorance enables. I wonder if current, somewhat anachronistic, suspicion and superstition that still lingers with some parts of non-sorcerer population are fossilized remnants of the awareness their ancestors once possessed. What was it like to be a non-jujutsu user in the Golden Era of sorcery? Was it chaos and fear of that time which created an unbridgeable rift between sorcerers and non-sorcerers? I wonder what repercussions the current situation would have for the relationship between the two. Would it be history simply repeating itself, or is there an opportunity for real, substantial change, now that the system upheld by outdated tradition is utterly destroyed? Where are we heading with the story now?
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cinco-guijarros · 5 months
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hi i'm doing a thing and i NEED to know your opinion on the ancients having disabilities. thank you. :)
Hi hello. Thank you for reaching out!!
So I asked an expert on RW lore (my Friend) so we could bounce some ideas at each other, and I will try to summarize our thoughts in bullet points, hope this helps :)
Well, let's get the basics out of the way and say that there absolutely were disabled ancients, regardless of technological progress.
In fact there probably exists a lot of support for disabled ancients, going from mobility aids, aids in day to day life to prosthetic body parts.
Heh, now that I think about it maybe some people even had purposed organisms designed to be guide or support animals.
My Friend also suggested that body modifications were common, which I feel a lot of disabled people could take advantage of, not necessarily to gain functionality but just because it's cool, same with mobility aids.
Picture someone on a wheelchair passing everyone on the street, Maybe even power it with void fluid I Don't Know.
We both did agree that there was likely some ableism present in their beliefs, sadly. But my friend suggested that there's no reason for that to be representative of all of their society.
Like, maybe an inclination from the Ancients in high society would be to not put any effort on disabled people or consider them worthy of life, but commoners don't need to agree.
There definitely is space for community support and care, I think.
On my end I feel like it was possible that some abled ancients kinda pushed the idea that disabled folks were closer to ascension because their conditions would "deprive them" of ever fulfilling some urges and kinda thought that they were more fit to reach personal ascension.
But like, I think most of us agree ableism in fiction is tiring and overdone and that the above POV doesn't need to be generalized, so let's move on to other stuff.
Despite all of this, I think there could be a lot of value in diversity, and the unique contributions they can make in society.
So, for instance, I can think of disabled communities using qualia records as a way to assert their identities, and use these records as a statement of the worth of their own experiences.
Kind of like saying "My experiences matter and are worth being shared in their truest form."
Like I can see this as something ancients with sensory disabilities or folks who don't use verbal language could do really cool things with.
I'm also thinking that some disabilities may be more prevalent because of the places the ancients live in. People affected more deeply by pressure changes, lack of air, and so on definitely were impacted when the cities moved to be on top of the iterator superstructures.
Also, if you're making your ancients have different base abilities or senses compared to humans, for anything they have, there definitely exist some way in which someone can be disabled with it, yknow? Those are cool concepts to explore too.
And lastly! Cycles, death and rebirth could also be cool topics to play around, such as the question of whether some disabilities carry across cycles, or whether they're only present in one of them. This, of course depends on how you think cycles work, whether people change body's but preserve a sense of continuous identity or the body itself just regenerates to some degree.
In my opinion, I could definitely see both disabilities that persist and some that don't, but I will leave that more open.
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libbee · 1 year
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Some heartfelt advice for 8th venus ladies:
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I can empathize with the emotional struggles of this placement. It is almost as if the society we are born in somehow runs on conventions that are pre existing. Trying to live by values, high standards, principles, morals, ethics, virtues is looked down upon, ridiculed, called as noob. It is almost like the society, media, politics rewards and celebrates being crooked, unethical, disorganized. I think it is projection of collective shadows and rejection of what we dislike in ourselves onto others who are not similar to us. Irony is that on a superficial level, all of us try to do virtue signalling and portray a highly moral persona of ourselves but we dont like to do the hard work of actully living according to our standards.
Venus in 8th house lady comes across such situations in life where she realizes how messed up the social systems are. How people are fake, pretentious, hypocrite and merely holding an image of goodness but dont actually live like that. She can see through lies, deception and fakery - and she hates that. This lady then does shadow work - it is usually after a major heartbreak that she figures out her emotional issues. Thereby she learns to manage her emotions to raise herself from the puddle of bad social circles. This is why it is also called the placement of rebirth or emerging like a lotus from the mud.
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Shadow work is dirty and when the mud clears, it is time to rise above the social conventions and expectations. It is time to become what we call a High Value Woman. A high value woman lives by her values and standards. She is sophisticated, soft spoken, ladylike. Dont mistake high value woman for misogyny or stereotype. But it is character development. You can call it whatever you want but it is about emotional strength and realizing her inner will. It is about self actualization and reaching her highest potential.
Some traits of a high value woman are: she knows her worth, values, her time is not free for everyone, does not engage with toxic people, has emotional control, is classy, does not put down other women to look good, does not need male validation to feel desirable, is Stoic, has a career, has some pursuit in life, well read, thoughtful speaker, lives by morals and principles. In relationship, she does not appear clingy, has an identity of her own, does not chase the man, lets the man be the provider, does not play mind games, does not cheat, emotionally connected and invested in her partner. Some personal values are: empathy, kindness, classy, lives with dignity, has self respect, has boundaries for toxic people, etc. Moreover, she constantly improves her own darkness and becomes a little better person everyday.
Some of these traits might not feel good to those who dont have venus 8th house but it is really essential for these ladies because of their life themes. I dont even have to share this, just meet any 8th house venus lady in the random place and she will tell you how much character development she has gone through. No matter the nation, the state, the race, the language, anyone with 8th house venus really goes through self transformation in secrecy. It is the hallmark of this placement.
The sooner you transform the better the result. You can then attract a fellow High value man and live a drama free satisfying emotionally fulfilling private relationship. Emotional control is as important to these ladies as is brakes in a car. Since your life theme is very fated, you have psychic gifts and things happen suddenly in your life, better to drive your car smoothly to make the twists and turns easier. Dont race your car, drive in limits. Better safe than sorry.
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haejjoon · 1 year
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I just finished Royal and I've been really enjoying the swap au, and your take on the characters!
You said you had lots of thoughts about Yusuke too? 👀
WE REALLY ARE TAKING TURNS WITH CHARACTER ANALYSIS i should just make it a tag at this point. ykw im gonna do that.
okay, onto yusuke:
I adore him. completely and utterly. he’s my favorite boy apart from akeshu and for WILDLY obvious reasons: he’s fun, SUCH a character, and his story arc feels whimsy but not so out there that it feels unrealistic. adding onto the fact that i’m an artist myself, gunning to go pro, and he’s so relatable it hurts. straps yusuke onto the operating table let’s do this
1) his struggles relating to madarame
one thing that i’ll say right off the bat is that i HATE how the pts approached him. its nonsensical. even if ryuji and ann aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed how the hell did they think that approaching a stranger and saying “YOU’RE BEING ABUSED WE CAN HELP YOU FIGHT YOUR ABUSER” was going to turn out well in any way possible?? the writing suffers from something similar during ryuji’s run with akiren to question the volleyball team members. ryuji and ann, as dull as they may be, are abuse victims themselves; surely they’d understand why abuse victims would be hesitant to say anything? especially when a stranger gets all up in your face about it.
but apart from that: i love how yusuke dealt with all of it. i’m not saying that him becoming defensive over madarame was a good thing, but in terms of realism, it just Makes Sense. children raised by abusive guardians often aren’t aware how they’re taken advantage of, and when they’re as isolated from society as yusuke is, their obvious first instinct is to defend those who raised them. it’s like rapunzel about mother gothel from disney’s tangled. of course yusuke defended madarame’s ‘love’; he never knew what love was.
it isn’t even only that. yusuke and madarame are both branded as very traditionally japanese, from how they speak to how they dress. it’s even shown in their primary art medium—traditional painting and japanese oil work. i’m not japanese, but i am korean, and if there’s anything i’ve learned while growing up in a traditional asian household: it’s very suffocating. the filial piety you learn from high school history class isn’t just a far-off tradition in the old ages, it’s EXTREMELY prevalent even today. i can’t even count the amount of times i was put down or chastised for simply speaking out of turn, and that was with my parents trying to adapt to the american standards of respect.
in this context, it makes even more sense for yusuke to defend madarame so vehemently. it’s literally been ingrained into him growing up. the entire “parents are right, children are wrong” mentality is SO strong with the Growing Up Asian experience, and that’s coming from a korean-american. i can’t even imagine the kind of shit yusuke’s had to go through.
and it’s with all that that i find it so cathartic and admirable that yusuke finally managed to recognize madarame for the shitbag he is. genuinely, the amount of brainwashing he’d been forced through should have made it impossible for him to fight back, but my boy did it—and in the most stylish way possible, might i add!!! he stuck it to madarame and finally recognized his own worth. that’s incredible. i’m so proud of him.
but what makes all that even BETTER is his CONFIDANT STORY, and OH MY GOD I’M NEVER SHUTTING UP ABOUT HOW AMAZING IT IS MOVING ON TO POINT TWO
2. HIS CONFIDANT STORY OHHHH MY GOD
one of the biggest opinions ive heard about yusuke’s confidant story is that it doesn’t make sense or that it’s in his own head. SLAMS ATTORNEY DESK. OBJECTION YOUR HONOR ITS TIME FOR THE CROSS EXAMINATION
of COURSE it’s all in his own head. his confidant begins after madarame’s arrested and he finally, finally gets to be his own person and live on his own. the physical threat is gone!! but one of the most amazing things about his story arc is the depiction that childhood trauma never truly goes away. madarame being gone for good doesn’t automatically mean that yusuke’s mentally safe and sound. in fact, it fucks with him even more that he’s free—he doesn’t know how to live on his own, or how to make art for himself.
he’s literally lived his entire life for someone else; how can you expect him to suddenly go out and do whatever he wants? until this point in time, yusuke’s wants didn’t matter. he didn’t matter. the only important thing to him was pumping out art for madarame to display at his next show JUST TO SURVIVE. to EAT. i’m gonna get into his whole thing with eating in a second but i’m just putting that out there: it’s all in his own head because it has to be. he has to grow mentally in order for him to to do anything.
with that point out of the way: yusuke doesn’t forgive madarame for what he’s done, especially with his mother, but he also just has no idea what to feel about him in general? there’s two clashing images: one, of the teacher who (in yusuke’s view) loved and raised him, and one, of the monster who let his mother die in cold blood to get his hands on her personal artwork. and you might say “oh well yusuke’s being delusional again because madarame never truly loved him.” no. it isn’t delusion. it’s how yusuke’s been raised. he didn’t recognize madarame’s abuse because he never registered it as abuse. he was never taught that it was abuse. unlike shiho and ann who knew that what kamoshida was doing was wrong, yusuke never had anyone to tell him that madarame was taking advantage of him.
yusuke didn’t have anyone.
throughout his confidant story, he agonizes over his purpose for creating art at all—it makes sense, as his only purpose thus far was to put food on the table and to avoid verbal abuse from his father figure. yes, he said that his only purpose for creating art in the past was because he wished to put beauty in the world like his mother did with sayuri, but is that really all there was to it? i don’t think so. yusuke created art to survive, and coped with it by staring at his “sensei”’s magnum opus and telling himself that he was creating things for the sake of creation, not to give in to his survivalist instinct. it was a coping mechanism. i’ll live and die by this.
and this is also why he crumbles so much over that art director coming to him to monetize his work. he’s now aware that what he was striving for in the past was fake. he wants to truly pursue that goal again, to create something beautiful just for the sake of creating, but now he’s been thrust into the real world—one of capitalism, one where corruption thrives. the pure art he wants to make just doesn’t exist here. it never did. and that realization destroys him.
now if you Didn’t Know, i’m also an artist. i’m literally the same age as yusuke is (if not a little older), and that truth hurts. the fact that i have to make art in order to feed and clothe and keep myself warm hurts. there’s nothing i’d like better than to just make things i want to make, but i can’t, not in this world. his struggle is so realistic, and it rings so deep. every time i experience his story it always leaves me feeling bittersweet.
but then!!! at the end of his story!!!! he comes to a very important realization.
all of that’s okay.
it’s okay to profit off of your work. it’s okay to make things other people like. it doesn’t make you any less of a person to seek compensation for your work. it’s doesn’t make you any less of a human to seek praise for the amazing things you create. it’s okay.
and to the non-artists out there who might not understand why this is such a groundbreaking revelation: artists are constantly being put down in this capitalistic society. art is literally everywhere you look—it’s in the buildings you occupy, in the subways you ride, in the words you read, in the shows you consume. art is one of the cornerstones for what makes humans human, and those who create such beautiful things are never given credit.
just look at the ai discourse happening recently. look at how artists are treated when they stress about having art stolen or watermarks erased. to people like us, our creations are proof of us being alive. it’s our living mark on the world, one that will remain (physically or digitally) long after we ourselves pass away. but we’re constantly, constantly told that “it’s not that deep”, “you’re being selfish”, yadda yadda yadda. we’re shit on simply because we want to survive in this hellish fucking world. and that builds up.
so many aspiring artists out there give up too soon because of this. because art isn’t profitable, because we have to survive, because no one appreciates what you do no matter how beautiful it is or how much work you put in.
but then, persona 5 finally turned around, and told an entire generation of aspiring artists that their work was important. you are important. it’s okay to profit off of what you do.
that’s fucking incredible. it’s also a really, REALLY low bar, but it’s something. yusuke coming to the realization that creating art for himself is okay, whether it be for monetization or praise, was so cathartic to me. i’m sure other artists feel the same way.
his story arc is a fucking fantastic depiction of how much artists suffer, no matter what medium or era.
…….. and then people turn around and shit on it because they don’t understand its intricacies. as expected.
sigh.
3. the theme of going hungry
throughout the entirety of the game, yusuke’s depicted as the quintessential ‘starving artist’. he’s always hungry, and never knows how to budget his money, and that shit’s hilarious but also really, really fucking sad.
i remember reading a fantastic yusuke study on ao3 a couple years back—forgot who the author was, but it’s called “the emperor”—and it said something along the lines of this: “you have to eat in order to starve.”
like.
oh my GOD.
and it plays in so terrifically with the experience of creating art, as well. you have to eat in order to starve; you have to taste in order to crave. you have to experience praise in order to want it more. i’ve gone through dry spells where no one saw what i made, and it only made me go hungry for that appreciation again—and then i get it, just a little taste of it. i keep making content. i keep on going and going and going just to get the smallest bit of acknowledgement.
for those who’ve ever gone hungry before: would you be able to turn down a feast, if offered? would you be able to pace yourself, or would you inhale it quick as you can? if you’ve ever eaten a large meal after being hungry for a day or two, you’d know that it would immediately come back to bite you in the ass. you’d stop eating for a bit, you’d get hungry again, and then you’d scarf down another gigantic meal, rinse and repeat.
the correct choice here is to moderate yourself. take it slow. eat enough to be full, and pace yourself so that you won’t have to go horribly hungry to eat again.
yusuke, starved for appreciation, suddenly finds himself with the offer of his life. he’ll be sponsored by one of the most influential art directors in all of japan. he’ll be successful; he’ll have a scholarship, he’ll never, ever have to go hungry again—
and then he turns it down.
because this entire time, the hunger allegory was about success. you get the opportunity of a lifetime, and you invest everything you have into it—you eat and you eat and you eat until you can’t anymore, and then you find that that the satisfaction of finally feeling full has long since gone, and now you’re hungry again. you’re still a nobody. no one remembers your one-off success.
yusuke refuses the incredible offer, and decides to build his success slowly. he won’t take it all in stride. he’ll pace himself until he doesn’t have to be starving to eat.
that’s FUCKING brilliant.
i have so much more to say about yusuke than just this—how i feel about him (being, in my opinion, incredibly autistic-coded) as an artist with adhd, how his behavior is treated by the phantom thieves, how he plays into the phantom thieves as the sole creative mind of the group—but if i get into all that i’ll literally be typing on my ipad forever. i’ve already been sitting here for thirty minutes instead of finishing up chapter 5 of ex machina. oh god i love yusuke so much.
if you somehow came across this gigantic character dissection on your tl, hey hello hi, i also write stories! currently working on a swap au in my spare time, you might’ve heard of it. ex machina by hhaeyeun on ao3. check it out <3
thanks for the opportunity anon i’m So Sorry to have filled your inbox with this absolute beefcake of a reply. have a lovely day <3
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Levi how's things still watching TSL? Wait what about dare! Tell those 3 mages about TSL!
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Ehh?! Yes but.. Wait uhm.. Oh.. Okay
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Have you ever heard about the tale of seven lords?!
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What is that?
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It's novel that been adapted in several adaptations that created by a human named Christopher Peugot! Well it's about 7 lord brothers, and the protagonist is henry that is a human!
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Hmm sounds worth to read
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*he just came back after put his lightseeker outfit on* what you talking about levi?
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The tale of seven lords!
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I think I've heard that before.. it's about demon 7 lords right?
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Yes you got it!
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Actually the cd has 4 volumes but I spill that for you.. The seven lords are brothers, the oldest being the Lord of Corruption
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who's always plotting and planning in secret. The second oldest is the Lord of Fools who'd do anything for money.
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The third brother is the Lord of Shadow, a brooding recluse.
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The fourth oldest is called the Lord of Masks, who acts as a high-status, upstanding member of society, but in truth he's inhumane and cruel.
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The fifth brother whose name is the Lord of Lechery has a dirty mind and only thinks about seducing others.
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The sixth oldest is the Lord of Flies and he only has one thing on his mind: food.
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Lastly, the seventh brother is called the Lord of Emptiness, who's hard to understand or read. Like belphie.
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That's lot of characters...
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wait are they really brothers!?
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Yes it is, as for story it divided into several parts and henry helping each one of them. So well known parts is.
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Volume two scene.. the second lord reunites with his is former lover, Geldie, but he finds her frozen in ice and I just hopes the lord will find a way to save her life.
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Uh.... sounds bad.
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Is she caught on snowstorm?
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Yep..
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then in volume 5.. the supply lines of the Lord of Flies gets cut off after his land is invaded by hostile forces. The Lord of Fools sends food supply to him, but the food spoils because of the rain, causing a disease spreading across the Lord of Flies' land
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Uh oh that's even more worse!
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Wait huh!?
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Yep but that's only the thing that second lord to to helping his brother lord of flies.
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Their friendship and family bond is really strong.. I kinda feel like sympathizing for them.
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You know what scary? A plague.. and no food supply..
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Haha yeah true nice joke Rafayel!
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mariusperkins · 4 months
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my favourite new-to-me movies of 2023
a few years ago my resolution was to stop just only rewatching Ocean's Eleven over and over and actually watch some of the thousand-ish movies that I say I'm going to watch and then don't, which, honestly, has been Very fun and something I highly recommend! It also means that I watch a lot of movies that aren't actually "new" (which, honestly, I also recommend).
Picking a top 20 was really hard this year (I would do top 10 but that was impossible), I watched so many movies I absolutely LOVED, and so I narrowed them down to the below using the only criteria that I think really matters when it comes to lists like this which is 1. How insane did I feel about the movie at the time, and 2. Do I still feel insane about it when I think about it now.
This list got long so to save your dash I have put it under the cut:
20. Fire of Love (2022): a documentary about the lives of two volcanologists who ultimately died together in a volcanic eruption. It's told in such a beautiful, moving way, and I've been telling everyone I know to watch it, so of course it had to make this list
19. Lady For a Day (1933): a group of loosely-socially-connected people work together to convince a wealthy man that an old impoverished apple seller is a member of high society so her daughter (who also believes her slightly-estranged mother is high society) can marry into real high society. It was literally the first movie I watched in 2023 and I truly can't think of a better way to start off a year than with a movie that is about helping other people for the sake of Just Helping Them, because we should care about other people, because what else are we on this earth for if not to help and care about other people. Also, this is one of those 1930s movies that seems wildly progressive in it's treatment of women (nobody shames Annie for having a daughter out of wedlock or anything that goes along with that, everyone wants her to be happy, and healthy, and to help her get the thing that she wants above all else: for her daughter to be happy and safe).
18. The Talk of The Town (1942): one of the many "Cary Grant's most bisexual movies" but boy howdy is it!! Cary Grant, a communist sympathiser and unionist, has to hide out at Jean Arthur's farmhouse to escape the law after being accused of a crime he didn't commit but wouldn't you know it, Jean Arthur's just rented out her farmhouse to Ronald Coleman, a judge who prides himself on his neutrality who's about to be nominated to the supreme court! Jean Arthur, thinking fast, says Cary Grant is her gardener for the farmhouse and also sets about trying to prove to Ronald Coleman that Cary Grant is innocent, Cary Grant sets about trying to radicalise Ronald Coleman before he can get to the supreme court. Ronald Coleman spends a significant amount of time playing chess with Cary Grant while the two of them speak softly to each other. Just wonderful stuff, and Jean Arthur is so beautiful that I genuinely tried to find out what her skincare regime was.
17. Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (2020): a short (just over an hour) Japanese scifi film where a man discovers that the tv in the cafe downstairs from him and the tv in his apartment are connected, with the tv in the cafe showing two minutes into the future (of whatever is in front of the tv in his apartment). It does some really fun stuff with this time-travel adjacent concept, especially in the final "fight" sequence! It's a little hard to find (I think I might have watched it on vimeo?), but absolutely worth it.
16. White Zombie (1932): sometimes called the "first zombie movie", it's so different from what we now think of as a "zombie movie" that it feels fresh (or, at least, it did to me). A young bride is "killed" by an evil count and brought back as a zombie forced to obey his will. I found the short scene towards the end of the movie where her husband and True Love almost breaks the hold on her mind and there's a close up of her expression as it changes from wide-eyed blankness to almost a smile before she slips back under Bela Lugosi's spell to be genuinely affecting. Also, there's a scene right at the start where Bela Lugosi's eyes are superimposed over a scene that I found genuinely frightening, I was as jumpscared by those eyes as a person watching in 1932 probably was, which is always a fun feeling.
15. A New Leaf (1971): Walter Matthau, an aging, asexual bachelor is informed that he is on the brink of complete poverty and decides to find a orphaned heiress to marry (and then murder) to keep himself in his preferred lifestyle. After several unsuccessful endeavors he meets Elaine May (who also wrote and directed the movie), a weathly and extremely absent-minded botanist. Instead of killing her, he trips his way through improving both her life and himself. I was enthralled by this movie, I just want to rotate every part of it in my mind forever.
14. It's a Wonderful Knife (2023): the most recent of all the movies on this list in terms of both release date and me having watched it, this slasher retelling of 'it's a wonderful life' has it all: a Scary Slasher opening featuring a killer with a gimmick ("The Angel"), the classic bit where she wishes she'd never been born and stumbles through realising Oh No I'm In The Universe Where I've Never Been Born, the universe saving True Love of lesbians, Justin Long being a little weirdo, the bit where she runs down the street wishing everyone and everything a merry christmas. All the in-text callouts by the characters that what's happening is "just like" it's a wonderful life snowballed into a (to me) touching romantic moment ("you were my Clarence"). It all just Worked!! The perfect holiday watch.
13. Bones (2001): I love a horror movie that I've never heard of and the early 2000s is a great time period for this. 1970s Snoop Dogg (with beautiful 1970s hair!) is murdered, and his ghost comes back to get revenge on those who killed him. Features some great gross-out horror scares (the nightclub scene, especially, made me jump out of my seat and pace around). Also, a very cool, scary-looking poster!
12. Eyes Without A Face (1960): A doctor attempts to use his plastic surgery skills to "replace" his daughter's face, which has been mangled in a car accident (that he caused). I hope whoever designed the mask the daughter wears, which is a plain white 'death mask' style with only the eyes cut out, got some kind of award because it's visually striking in every scene (especially when combined with her mod/60s coat). This movie is full of the gestures towards a broader life that his daughter would have had, or the life she did have that is just enough to both paint a vivid picture and make you feel so curious that the movie would be enthralling even without the serial murder/body horror aspect. Has one of the greatest "good for HER" endings to a movie I've ever seen, which I would implore you not to spoil for yourself if you want to watch this. The version up on internet archive does have english subtitles (thank you internet archive!!).
11. Grosse Point Blank (1997): A disconnected and disaffected hit man attends his high school reunion, confronting his past (the mother that barely recognises him, the girlfriend he abandoned on prom night, the friend that never heard from him after he left town) and his present (the other hit men attempting to kill him). I feel cringe somehow for putting this on my list, I feel cringe admitting that I did feel a big Swell of emotion as John Cusack makes eye contact with a baby as the lyrics to Queen/Bowie's 'Under Pressure' swells in the background (why don't we give ourselves one more chance), I even feel a little cringe for liking something that seems like it should only appeal to Gen X's. But what is this list for if not for films that game me cringe levels of emotions?
10. Waxworks (1988): Much like the early 2000s, the 1980s are also a great decade for 'horror movies you've never heard of'. The plot summary doesn't do much to give it away: 'a group of teens go to a wax museum and get killed off one by one'. "Well, that's just house of wax", you think to yourself, "I know what to expect from this movie". It isn't, and you don't. Please don't look up scenes ahead of time, please do watch this movie!
9. Knightriders (1981): I'm a very loud member of the Movies Should Be Shorter club but this movie is over two hours and I wish it had gone on forever. Every time you think 'well that's the end of the movie' another movie arc starts, and I couldn't have been happier. It follows the "knights" (motorbike stuntmen) in an 80s renaissance fair as they travel from town to town, argue about modernising, and put on shows. Feels like you're really vibing with them under the 1980s sun. Also features a cameo of Stephen King, who eats a sandwich in a truly disgusting way.
8. House (1977): a group of teen girls go to the house of one of the girl's aunts. It's a very haunted house. The best way I can think to describe it is that it's like watching the description of a nightmare you had as a child, almost too over the top and ridiculous to be scary in an explainable way but it is still scary. I'll think about the piano sequence until the day I die.
7. They Might Be Giants (1971): A man who, after the death of his wife and his subsequent mental breakdown, believe himself to be Sherlock Holmes. His brother, who's attempting to get him committed to collect his inheritance, introduces him to a woman named Dr Watson. They run around around town as the man who believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes attempts to solve the mystery that he believes Moriarty is orchestrating, solving real problems for various people around town almost by accident. A extremely hopeful and upbeat movie with the saddest last 60 seconds to a movie I've ever seen, a very, very bittersweet love story.
6. The Palm Beach Story (1942): Claudette Colbert is deeply in love with her big rectangle of a husband Joel McCrea, but wants to divorce him because she believes that providing for her is holding him back (and he won't let her accept money from random men who want to give her money for being beautiful - a realistic thing to happen if you are Claudette Colbert imo). He's desperate to stay married to her so when she runs off to Palm Beach for a quickie 1940s divorce he follows her, but on the way she meets mega rich Rudy Vallee who falls instantly in love with her. As a complete 180 to the previous movie, this is a fun movie with the most rediculous final 60 seconds. I truly believe that your enjoyment of the movie hinges on those final moments - I, of course, loved it.
5. The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971): the king of horror Vincent Price stars as the mysterious Dr Phibes, who's out to kill a very specific set of people in various very specific ways, assisted by his beautiful and incredibly dressed assistant Vulnavia while the police unsuccessfully try to figure out what he's doing and stop him. I truly loved this movie, the mystery just silly enough, the kills just over the top enough, the elaborate sets not really trying to not look like sets and better off for it!! The sequel, in which Dr Phibes and Vulnavia travel to Egypt to resurrect Dr Phibes' wife, is also quite good!
4. Brief Encounters (1945): A man and woman, both happily (or at least contentedly) married to other people, meet and fall into a whirlwind-style love before the real world crashes back into them. Soul-obliteratingly sad, but in the way that love can be, sometimes.
3. Shocker (1989): A college student starts having visions of a serial murderer in which the murderer can see him, helps to catch the murderer... And then the movie really starts. This was going to be lower down until I realised that it's become such a reference point for me since I watched it. I wish Wes Craven would make a sequel about the protagonist's girlfriend, who, by the end of the movie, is a ghost who shares his body.
2. Wild Thing (1987): Tarzan, but if Tarzan was in 1980s New York instead of the jungle. I had such a fun time with this movie! Excellent use of 'wild thing' (the song) needle drop, which happens in conjunction with a Spiderman-style man-on-the-street interview section. To me, this one is an undiscovered gem.
1. Tampopo (1985): a woman, who isn't good at making ramen but owns a ramen shop, asks a truck driver and his friend to help her improve her cooking. He agrees, and they begin a winding journey, encountering and befriending various people to help her along the way. Tampopo is also a movie that's interested in exploring the different relationships people can have to food and the different roles it plays in society, so it's full of little tiny scenes staring all kinds of wonderful weirdos like this scene, which is one of my favourite scenes in all of cinema, of a little old woman causing chaos in a small supermarket late at night. Also, if you watch this movie: get ramen first, because otherwise you'll have to pause the movie to go and get food.
Honourable Mentions: You've Heard Of This Edition
Best movie about The Movies: Asteroid City (2023)
Best action scene that made me claw at the person next to me: Mission Impossible (Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Award for 'movie famous for being good that is good': RoboCop (1987)
Award for 'movie referenced as a punchline that actually has Things To Say about the treatment of houseless people to the point that I now feel like those punchlines do the movie and incredible disservice': C.H.U.D (1984)
Best rediculous stunts/scene chewing from Jake Gyllenhaal: Ambulance (2022)
Best 4th movie in a film series that was still incredible and also made me cry: John Wick Chapter 4 (2023)
Award for special effects/goo (for when you see the clones sloughing out of the pods): Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Best use of Bill Pullman as a romantic lead: While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Award for 'predator movie that is actually enjoyable to watch': Prey (2022)
Best use of cocaine as a plot device: Cocaine Bear (2023)
Honourable Mentions: Maybe You Haven't Heard Of This Edition
Best movie that is just really a series of weird little sketches: Better Off Dead (1985)
Best movie about a married couple that are horny for each other: Undercover Blues (1993)
Best use of Willem Dafoe as an ally to the protagonist: Daybreakers (2009)
Best use of a one location (and primarily one set): Welcome Back Mr McDonald (1997)
Best use of the little lock of hair that falls out of the gelled-back hairdo in a 1930s male lead: Love Is News (1937)
Best use of enemies-to-lovers: Legal Eagles (1986)
Best use of Bob Hope: Nothing but the Truth (1941)
Award for 'most people cheating on each other with everyone else' in a single movie: Dinner at Eight (1933)
Best movie involving a woman who died and then possesses another woman to get revenge on the man who killed her: Supernatural (1933)
Best use of weird masks and scary basements: Popcorn (1991)
Award for 'most 1980s tropes in a 1930s movie': The Old Dark House (1932)
Best underutilised setting for a horror movie: Intruder (1989)
Best movie that you truly can't believe got made and released: Roar (1981)
Best performance of an actor pretending to be a robot: Deadly Friend (1986)
Best 1930s 'extremely wealthy old man and poor fast talking woman best friendship' in a movie: Easy Living (1937)
Best early 2000s thriller you haven't heard of/best Emily Blunt performance: Wind Chill (2007)
Best use of 1940s tropes and jokes in a hallmark movie: A Biltmore Christmas (2023)
Best use of best friends in a noir movie: The Gun for Hire (1942)
Best netflix movie that netflix inexplicably didn't bother promoting: They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
Best Dylan O'Brien performance: The Outfit (2022)
Best slimy little weasel performance: Cure For Wellness (2016)
Best use of time travel to a Very specific but not well-known historical event: Timeline (2003)
Award for most specific accident in a horror movie that required a transplant: Mad Love (1935)
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gilbirda · 2 years
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Dance with me?
DPxBatman crossover. Jazz/Jason pairing. Background BatCat
Two strangers meet at a Wayne charity gala to raise funds for the Arkham Asylum Reform project. What they don't know is that they have much more in common than they think.
“That’s it? One dance? It doesn’t seem that difficult.” He glared at her. “Why, you don’t dance?”
“Not if I can help it.” He grumbled with distaste. 
“Why not? Not handsome enough to tempt you, Mr. Darcy?”
NOW WITH SEQUEL -> Can we keep her?
NOW WITH ART!!!!: - Art by @impyssadobsessions: The window jump scene + how Jazz looks after parkouring and kissing - Art by @goingtoast: The strangers at the food table + running barefoot holding hands like teenagers running away
[Read on AO3] [Read on FF.net]
Jazz looks like this for the whole story (thank you @impyssadobsessions for letting me use the design!)
----
"’Come to the gala’, they said," Jazz grumbled under her breath, shoving another fancy canapé into her mouth, "’it'll be fun’, they said."
Fun, my ass, she thought. This was not fun, this was torture. Now she understood why Sam actively tried to avoid these things. Jazz was woman enough to accept the other girl was right and she had been a fool for thinking it couldn't be that bad.
Curse the Fenton bad luck. She jinxed herself when she said those exact words.
"Being legally alive is so not worth this." A voice grumbled beside her. She turned, finding a young man stuffing food into his mouth at the same pace as her.
She snorted. That's something that Danny would say. Maybe if he were here it would be a better experience, but she was requested to come alone.
Her reaction made the stranger turn and look at her, blinking as he noticed her presence for the first time. His eyes did a sweep of her in a not creepy way (thank the Ancients, if one more person did that tonight she was going to put the silverware to good use). The way he looked at her was analyzing, calculating. Cautious.
"You are not from here."
If he hadn't clearly discarded his tie already and hadn't talked with the mouth full of tiny food, she would have felt offended — one would interpret his comment as that she didn't belong around rich folks and high society. Which, she didn't, but it was still rude to say.
"I am not."
He chewed the food slowly and swallowed. "Should I know you?"
"I would remember if you did. I’m a therapist at Arkham." She extended her hand for a handshake, but the man only looked at her with an incredulous expression.
"You have to be mad to work there."
Jazz rolled her eyes and withdrew her hand. What a rude man. "And you are so unoriginal by telling me that."
This, for some reason, made him chuckle. He relaxed, as if she passed some kind of test. The stranger smiled and went back to consider what next pretentious tiny food he could stuff his face with.
Jazz took the chance to seize the man. Young, early to mid twenties, really fit, with broad shoulders. And tall. Even in her ridiculous five inch heels he was still maybe a head towering over her. Despite his size, he was dressed properly for the event, sans the tie (she didn’t blame him), and his hair was gelled back in a style she had seen at least five dudes have so far in the event, but his unruly curls were already sticking out of the gel.
What her eyes were stuck on, though, was the white stripe. It looked out of place. Not dyed, though — she knew what dyed white hair looked like. Of course he could have vitiligo manifested in a mismatched hair color, or a type of albinism or—
Calm down, Jazz. Not everything is about ghosts.
She left that life behind, kind of, when she moved to Gotham, chasing her dream to become the best at criminal behavior and rehabilitation into society. She was not a ghost hunter anymore. And white hair didn’t mean ‘ghost’.
“Take a photo, it’ll last longer.”
“Sorry,” she said, “it’s just…” She didn’t know what to say.
“Hm. It’s the white hair, right?” He shrugged, apparently deciding that he had scavenged enough food. He was tense about the hair thing, she noticed, but he hid it well. “People get caught up in that a lot since I came back.”
“Came back?”
A muscle in his jaw tensed. She knew she was about to be lied to, and she didn’t mind (it was, after all, none of her business); but she was amazed at how this man knew how to control his expressions so well.
“Yeah, I was involved in an accident overseas and I was presumed dead for a while.” The way he shrugged was completely different from how he did a minute ago. “These aristocracy-wannabe pricks get caught up on that a lot despite having been a long time ago.”
Presumed dead for a while.
Jazz could feel dormant instincts come back to the surface.
“I have noticed that you don’t like being here.” She changed the topic. Despite wanting to know everything about that little comment, she was aware that this was not a patient she could study and diagnose. Behave, Jasmine.
“Gee, what gave it away?” He deadpanned, turning to look at the people dressed to the nines mingling and talking and laughing. Jazz didn’t need to be a psychiatrist to know many of those were faked.
She turned to look as well. Of course she couldn’t find Marcel, her boss, who had insisted she came to the gala, in the sea of bodies.
“Then why come at all?”
“I was forced to.”
She hummed in solidarity, eyes still on the room. It was nice, this quiet company. “Are you going to hide at the food table the whole night, then?”
“Are you?” She turned, finding him looking at her already. “Or is that dress bait to snatch one of the rich pricks in the room?”
“Why would I be hiding if I wanted to “snatch one of the rich pricks” here?”
“They like the challenge, I guess,” he looked back at the people and the noise. “They don’t want girls who ‘make it easy’.”
“That’s… a very incel and misogynistic way of thinking.”
The stranger snorted and choked on a laugh. “Welcome to Gotham’s high society.” He made a wide gesture towards the room. “It’s disgusting, but it’s not like I can kill every dude that thinks that way.” He rolled his eyes before murmuring against the collar of his jacket: “Not for lack of trying.”
This made her chuckle. She wasn’t supposed to hear that. She guessed that prolonged ecto contamination was useful for something after all.
“So… Who are you hiding from? The person that forced you to come?” She knew it was wrong to poke a total stranger, but she was invested now.
The man scoffed. “My father. He thinks that what I need to ‘calm down’ is settle down with a good girl.” He twisted his mouth in distaste.
Ah. “And you don’t like women?” She ventured, ignoring the slight pinch in her chest. Not that she had a desire to be romantically involved with this man — or the time for romance, altogether.
“No, no, I like women alright, and even if I didn't that wouldn’t be the issue. It’s just — I’m not going to marry someone just because my father wants to.”
“So, any boyfriends yet, Jazzy-pants?”
“We are just worried, you are getting older and we don’t want you to be alone.”
She shook away the memories of her parents’ words from her last visit. She knew they came from a good place, but still, it was heartbreaking that they asked about that and not about her work at Arkham — she had busted her ass making the reform plans and contacting benefactors and striking deals to get what she wanted, but she was still “just a shrink” in her parents’ eyes. They were brilliant scientists, but their bias against the study of the mind was painful.
“Yeah,” she finally said, looking away from the beautiful people and how paired up most of them were. “I think I get you.”
He whistled. “That sounded charged. Wanna talk about it?” The stranger stopped a waiter passing by and took two champagne glasses, extending one for her.
To hell with everything. She took it.
“My parents believe that I’m wasting my life doing what I love — they were proud of me until they learned that I wanted to dedicate my life to criminal psychology and treatment.”
“They resent you or something?” An emotion glinted in his eyes when he took a sip of the bubbly drink.
“No. They are not against it. But they don’t ask about it either.”
He hummed, thinking. “And you dance around trivial topics until an argument breaks out?”
She lifted an eyebrow. He sounded like he talked from experience. “We don’t get into an argument, usually because they get distracted by their own work and talk about it instead.” She let the bitterness bleed into her voice, glad about the anonymity of talking to a stranger.
“Touchy subject, huh?”
“You have no idea, pal.”
They stayed in companionable silence, siping their drinks and getting lost in their memories. She sneaked a glance at the stranger, jumping when she caught him looking at her. Both turned to look at the room.
She could always blame the red on her cheeks on the alcohol.
“My father thinks I’m too violent.” He said, continuing the conversation with a soft voice. “After I came back from… abroad,” his mouth twisted, cementing her theory that he had, indeed, died and came back somehow, “he tried his best to deny I had changed, that my objectives and methods had changed.”
Obsessions, she realized. He came back with an obsession.
“And now?”
His eyes went back to her. If she were another person she would have dismissed the green shine in his blue eyes as a trick of the light. Instead, she smiled broadly at the familiarity.
“Now he should be glad we are on speaking terms.” He placed the empty champagne glass on the food table. “And he uses that opportunity to try and introduce me to some rich girl he swears is ‘super nice’ and could ‘tame me’.” He did the air quotes and everything.
“Seriously?” She giggled at the face he made.
“Well, he didn’t say it like that,” he admitted with a chuckle. “But the intention was implicit.”
“And she’s not that nice or something?”
“I don’t care how she is,” the stranger scoffed, “she could be a saint, for all I care. But that doesn’t change the fact that I hate the idea of starting a relationship with someone just because they could ‘calm me down’ or ‘fix me’.”
Jazz drowned down the rest of her drink and left the glass on the table in a movement to hide the expression on her face. She was sure her face was visibly red now, damn her pale skin.
She cleared her throat. “That’s… very wise of you.”
“I think it should be the bare minimum. I mean, it’s not rocket science,” he crossed his muscular arms over his chest. She was looking very politely at the way the fabric of the suit did little to hide his powerful biceps. “Hoping that someone will fix you when entering a relationship with them will only end in disaster.”
She didn’t know what was that made her heart beat faster; his words, or the way his frown and pout made him look more handsome instead of intimidating.
“That’s why you are hiding?”
“I’m hiding because I promised to dance with her in exchange of being left alone.”
“That’s it? One dance? It doesn’t seem that difficult.” He glared at her. “Why, you don’t dance?”
“Not if I can help it.” He grumbled with distaste.
“Why not? Not handsome enough to tempt you, Mr. Darcy?” The words were out before she could stop them. He was so grumpy it was a logical association.
This made him laugh. She liked how he laughed, with all his body and from deep in the chest. He uncrossed his arms.
“That was something I didn’t expect to hear today. Are you a fan of Austen?”
“I do enjoy her books. Pride and Prejudice holds a special place in my heart, though.”
His smile at her words did weird things to her heart. She was sure her cheeks were permanently red now, but she stopped caring about it.
“You have good taste.” He said, the smile turning into a smirk. He extended his hand for her to shake. His palms were warm and rough to the touch. “Also I think I haven’t introduced myself, I’m—”
“JASON!” A voice cut through their bubble.
Both turned, finding a young man, maybe a bit older than her stranger, angrily stomping his way towards them. There was a certain resemblance, blue eyes and black hair, and Jazz wondered if they were siblings.
“Uh, gotta bounce.” The stranger (Jason?) smiled wider, shook her hand once, and hastily ran away from the food table.
Jazz stood there shocked into silence, watching the other man chase after him, his face flushed and his perfectly styled hair completely ruined.
***
Jason had finally found a good place to hide by the time Bruce had to go give a speech or some shit, he didn’t care that much about the goal of the charity gala to be perfectly honest. It was never about the good causes and Bruce used these to keep up the appearances, so it was frivolous in every way.
The good thing is that since everyone had to stop chasing after him for the speech, they’ll need to start all over again with the search, giving him enough time to find another good hiding spot. Although he lamented the loss of the food table.
And the company.
He didn’t get her name, but the chick was nice to talk to. It was cool to not be judged because of his humble origins, pitied for his little accident abroad, or seen as prey to climb the social ladder in Gotham. Women always tried first with his brothers, but resorted to him when they got rebuffed, and it was annoying as hell to say the least.
Whatever. He would probably never see her again — she was so out of place that he knew she wasn’t usually invited to galas like these. Maybe she was part of the charity people? He could get the guest list and try investigate his way into finding out her name—
He was being ridiculous. He could just ask her name. He just needed to brave his way into the ballroom and search for her, while evading Bruce and the others trying to make him dance with some random rich girl he had no interest in meeting. Easy.
Jason grumbled his way back to the room the gala was held in, sneaking into shadowy corners and keeping one eye open for nosy siblings.
“— and lastly, I would like everyone to give a big applause to the powerhouse behind the project. Without her, this couldn’t be happening today; this gala, this new future, this next step for Gotham.” Jason turned to watch Bruce smiling at the public, one hand gesturing towards someone he couldn’t quite see with people in the way. “A big thank you from the bottom of my heart, Jasmine Fenton.”
The crowd applauded politely, as usual, people whispering among themselves about the new person. If he focused, he knew he would hear a wide range of nasty rumors and slander about her, but Jason wasn’t capable of hearing them.
Because the person that walked up to the podium with a nervous smile and familiar red cheeks, was his stranger from the food table.
Jasmine? Yes, that was her name.
She seemed terrified but hid it well, her steps making the skirt of her deep green dress flow like water, showing the side slits that teased the smooth skin of her legs. The lights on the stand reflected against her clothes and jewelry, the soft shimmer of the green fabric making her look like she was wearing tiny stars, the armband on her left arm and the golden necklace catching his eye as she gingerly put one hand on the podium, probably to ground herself.
Jason gave up hiding and stayed for her speech.
“Um,” she winced at the feedback of the microphone. A woman next to Jason giggled mockingly. “Thank you for this big opportunity, Mr. Wayne.” She nodded at Bruce. “We, and I mean the whole staff at Arkham Asylum, believe there is a real chance at new life, at a new future, for our patients. Even for those that tend to cause trouble, there is a way. With the Reform Project, we hope to break the stigma and transform Arkham into a place of hope.” She smiled nervously. Someone coughed a laugh in the public. “Once again thank you for the support and have a nice rest of the evening.”
There was some more dispassionate clapping. Fucking rich bastards.
He kept his eye on her as she all but ran down the stand and away from the eyes of the people that clearly didn’t believe in her vision but thought it would be good for their image to throw money at it. Well, fuck that.
He ran after her, struggling to keep up despite remembering she had some heels that looked uncomfortable to run with. He thought he heard Dick scream his name for a bit, but after he shut the ballroom door and started checking all the balconies in that floor, he had forgotten about his original objective of hiding from his siblings and Bruce.
He found her in balcony number four. Crying.
“Hey.” He said.
She jumped, quickly trying to wipe the tears gathered in her eyes. “Hello, stranger.” She tried to smile. “Hiding from your father again?”
Jason shook his head and caught the hand that was rubbing her eye. “You are going to mess with your makeup.”
“Oh shit, I forgot I was wearing any. Is it bad?”
He walked closer, grabbing her chin with the excuse of examining her makeup from all the angles. She was prettier up close, and he noticed the gold and green earrings framing her face, very visible since her hair was up in an elaborate bun. He knew how to braid hair and he knew that the braids going down the side of her head and around the bun weren’t that easy to pull off and look professional.
She had dedicated time to look good. She had worn makeup, which was something she didn’t usually do. For this gala. For the ungrateful bastards that laughed at her.
“You look fine.” He finally said, letting her go. “Nice speech, though. Didn’t know the Arkham Reform thing was yours.”
She looked like he had punched her in the gut, but tried to hide it quickly.
“You can laugh if you want. I know it is ridiculous.”
“I’m not laughing. If it were for me I’d burn down the place, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s stupid to believe in making it better.”
She giggled. Ah. That was better.
“Burn it down? Well, thank you for wanting to make me jobless.”
“I mean, I won’t do it now that I know you work there. Not that I have the means to commit arson or anything.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making it obvious that he could indeed commit arson. She found this funny.
“Oh, believe me, I would help you burn the whole thing down. Some days it’s the only thing I can think about.” Her smile was mischievous.
“I’ll call you if I ever decide to do it.”
She squeezed the hand that was still holding hers. He had forgotten about that, but now he didn’t want to let go.
“Thank you.” She said, voice soft. Somewhere, someone opened a door and the music from the gala leaked into their little moment at the balcony. “I needed the distraction.”
“You didn’t look so hot for a second there.”
“It’s the anxiety,” she nodded, “I hate speaking in front of a crowd.”
He made a face, squeezing her hand in solidarity. “That sucks.”
“It does. It’s the crowds, though — I usually can deal with people alright, I’m actually interested in therapy — but since I presented my proposal for the Reform my boss decided that I had to take care of everything, and I mean everything. Funding, support, convincing the patients to collaborate. Everything.”
“That doesn’t sound fair.”
“Marcel only took interest in me after I managed to get Bruce Wayne’s support. When he got onboard, he made it sound like it had been his idea all along! Can you imagine the nerve of this bitch?” She huffed. “Actually I was surprised that Mr. Wayne called me to talk back there, I assumed he bought the bullshit that I was an assistant that my boss had been feeding him.”
Huh. Of course Bruce would know what was going on, he wasn’t stupid to believe that the current Asylum director was suddenly really into reforming the place. It had to be someone from outside Gotham the one that seriously embarked into fixing the Asylum.
Also, quick question, what kind of life this cinnamon roll had to look at Arkham and go “this is the place I’m going to pour my body and soul into”?
He asked her that exactly. She laughed so hard that more tears started falling from her eyes, the hand that was free now placed on his shoulder for balance as she wobbled on her heels.
When she stopped laughing, she smiled up at him, her mascara running a little from the crying. He wiped it with his thumb, letting his hand stay cupping her face once he was done.
“Heh.” She calmed down, still giggling a little. “Wouldn’t you like to know, weatherboy?”
He couldn’t help it. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, enjoying when she giggled against him.
“What was that for, stranger?” She tried to keep a calm demeanor, but her cheeks were fierce red, betraying her emotions.
He licked his lips. Her lipstick was cherry flavored.
“Wouldn’t you want to kiss a pretty girl illuminated under such beautiful moonlight?”
“Very poetic, mister.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Do you wax the same poetry to every girl you kiss?”
“Why would I?”
“To drive them away, maybe.”
“I thought poetry was the food of love.” He saw the moment she caught on his words, because she smirked.
“Of a fine stout love, it may. But if it is only a vague inclination, I’m convinced one poor sonnet will kill it stone dead.”
He was delighted when she followed his lead. “So what do you recommend to encourage affection?”
She took the hand on her face and guided it towards her waist. “Dancing.” She whispered, letting the soft music coming from the gala weave with her words. “Even if one’s partner is barely tolerable.”
Both snickered at the absurdity of the moment, but started swinging to the music nonetheless. Every time their eyes crossed paths, they started laughing again. It was simple, it was calm, and most importantly, Bruce wouldn’t find them. He felt like he could relax for the first time since the whole gala started.
It was when the song was ending, that Jasmine placed her head on his chest and sighed. He was positive she could hear his heart beating faster, but neither commented on it.
“So you are the Jason Todd?” She asked softly. He hummed in response, but didn‘t know where she was going with this. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you really died, didn’t you?”
He tensed, all relaxation gone from his body. She let him step back away from her, smiling softly when his eyes assessed her like she was a threat.
“I don’t know what you are—”
“My brother died too.” She looked down at their still joined hands. He couldn’t let her go, despite everything. “He came back different. I also— I mean. I am…”
She lifted her head, looking at him with Lazarus Pit green eyes.
He frowned. “Who are you and who sent you.” He wasn’t asking.
Jasmine tilted her head. “My name is Jasmine Fenton. My parents, Madeline and Jackson Fenton, have dedicated their whole lives to the study of the afterlife. My brother and I simply paid the price.”
His heart beat fast, but for a completely different reason than before. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I feel like you also paid a price, and I wanted to let you know that I know.”
He looked down at the hand gripping hers. He angled his fingers so he could place them over her pulse. Although slower than normal, it was steady. She was telling the truth.
“Why?”
She blushed and looked away. “I like… I enjoyed spending time with you. I hope I didn’t read you wrong, but I think you enjoyed it too. I didn’t want to start anything on a lie.”
That was… noble. And sensible. If she ended up telling him later, or worse, if he found out on his own, he would have been devastated.
“I have no idea of the circumstances around your death, and I won’t ask. I hope you do the same about my brother.”
He watched as she slowly closed in on herself, the smiles and radiance he had seen before freezing into a contained steel. This girl had seen serious stuff, probably had done some herself.
“You didn’t die? Just curious.” Jason kept his voice soft and light. If she wanted to deflect the question, he would accept it.
“Something else happened to me.” She shook her head. “Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”
One day.
“That means you want to stick around?”
She saw his question as what it was and accepted the olive branch. “Why? You don’t want to keep dancing?”
“Actually—”
His stomach growled. Damn stupid little food at the stupid fancy gala. Stupid siblings making him run around and get hungry so quickly.
“— maybe we could ditch this whole thing and go get dinner?”
Jasmine seemed delighted. “Ancients, yes. I was about to resort to cannibalism.”
As if on cue, her stomach growled as well. He snorted and both started to laugh again, all tension forgotten.
“How can we get out of here without stumbling into the people looking for us?”
He hummed. “I know a way. Follow me.”
Both ran back into the manor, hand in hand, giggling and sneaking around like teenagers, Jasmine ditching the heels somewhere along the way.
Once they got to Bruce’s studio, Jason ignored the grandfather clock that was the secret entrance to the Cave and beelined to the balcony attached to the room. From there it was easy to jump to a nearby tree and climb down to freedom.
Ah, but—
“Can you do it with that thing on?”
Jasmine’s eyes analyzed the route, catching on his plan. At his question, she smirked and gathered her skirt with the hand that didn’t hold her heels. She lifted the skirt up and up, and Jason was about to look away when he saw why exactly she was doing this: she wore shorts under the dress.
Jason felt his heart skip a bit in his chest.
“Let’s go.”
He did the jump flawlessly, like it hadn’t passed any time since he was a kid and snuck out of the mansion thinking that Bruce or Alfred wouldn’t notice. Of course they did, and they always found him.
He heard the first heel land beside him, and turned in time to catch the other shoe when she threw it in his general direction.
She gathered her skirts better, tied it on her side and jumped to the tree branch, swinging her body to stand on it with a practiced move, making him wonder again what kind of life she had led. Then, she gracefully jumped to the lower branch and from there jumped to the ground, bending her knees perfectly to cushion the impact.
He watched her as she brushed her hands over her dress and her jewelry, checking that everything was still in place. Her hair, sadly, had started to fall off its neat bun.
She clicked her tongue, a bit annoyed, but lifted a hand to free her red locks from the bun, sighing once they started to flow back down her naked back.
He helped her pick out the pins and hair ties that had held the whole thing in place, running his fingers through the silky texture and the braids, enjoying how easily it flowed in his hands.
Jason noticed she was shivering a bit.
“Cold?”
“A bit.” She pushed her now free hair behind her ears. “I guess the backless dress was a bad idea in the middle of November.”
He shed his suit jacket before he chickened out and helped her put it on.
“Thanks.” Jasmine said as she folded the long sleeves so her hands were free. She looked up, giving him a confused smile when he didn’t say anything in response.
He couldn’t. Her dress kept sparkling under the moonlight despite being a bit stained and hastily tied around her hips; she was barefoot, her complicated hairdo ruined and tangled under his jacket that was too big on her slim body; and her makeup smudged from crying before in their little moment at the balcony.
She was the most beautiful thing he had seen.
He lunged, one hand already buried in her hair and the other on her waist, his lips on hers so he could taste the cherry lipstick once again. She made a sound in surprise, and he almost withdrew completely, if she didn’t lift her hands and grabbed his shirt to pull him closer.
She let him push her until her back was against the tree trunk, and he was glad that he gave her the jacket or she would have been uncomfortable.
When they parted, both refused to let go. Their eyes met briefly, hers were green and glowing and he was sure that his were the same. He felt accelerated, his mind scrambled and all over the place, but he felt in control. He felt—
Jasmine’s hand went to his hair, grabbing his curls and pulling his mouth against hers once again, moaning a little as if she wasn’t aware that she did it at all, her teeth softly biting his lower lip and asking permission to deepen the kiss.
Once he opened his mouth for her she had a field day with him, her tongue finding his quickly, another moan getting lost in their kiss. She was ravenous but gentle, letting him chances to stop her anytime he felt like she did something he didn’t want. He felt so wanted just from this kiss alone, and Jason wondered what else she could make him feel.
Her stomach grumbled, asking for attention.
Their chuckles started in the kiss but continued after they parted, her head falling to his chest as she tried to muffle her laugh.
“So…”
“Dinner?” He kissed the top of her head, still giggling.
“Please.”
“Let’s go, my bike is hidden somewhere close.”
She looked at him. “Bike?”
“Are you scared of motorcycles?” He lifted an eyebrow.
Jasmine shook her head. “I had a boyfriend that had a motorcycle and it was like his whole personality. My brother hated him with passion. He will chew my ear off if he learns about this.”
“Oh? We are already talking about exes?”
She blushed, leaning down to pick up her fallen shoe from the ground. “Why, wanna be my boyfriend or something?”
It was his time to blush. “Uh…”
“It’s okay,” she grabbed his hand, “we can talk about it over dinner and reach an agreement, Jason.”
“Call me Jay. And I would like to discuss your terms and conditions, Jasmine.”
She stood on the tip of her toes and yet he had to lean down for her to kiss him softly on the lips. There was still a bit of the cherry lipstick taste on them.
“Call me Jazz, then.”
***
“Aren’t you gonna stop him?”
“Hm,” Bruce said, glancing down at the pair clearly running away from the gala.
He had texted the others a while ago that he had found Jason, but opted for not explaining exactly where he was or what he was doing. There was something in the way he looked at the redhead girl, Jasmine, that made him want to cover for his second eldest.
“You are such a softie, Brucie boy.” Selina softly slapped his shoulder. “And a romantic.”
“I haven’t heard him laugh in ages, Selina.”
Her smile was sad as she held his face between her hands. His eyes went back to his son leaning down to kiss one of Arkham’s most promising psychiatrists. He had mixed feelings about the blooming relationship, but he didn’t want to risk losing Jason again after finally getting him to join family stuff again.
“Is this a good idea?” He finally looked into his girlfriend’s eyes.
“Did you see how she jumped from the tree? She could be a great thief if she wanted.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“What I meant to say is she fits this family perfectly. Vigilantes and cat burglars included. Yeah, I think it’ll be fine.” She softly placed her lips on Bruce's, distracting him from looking from their vantage point at the pair getting on the bike and riding away. “In fact, she already stole the poor boy’s heart, so I’d say she’s on her way to a plentiful career as my successor.”
This made him chuckle.
“Don’t tempt fate, woman.”
“I mean, I can train her. Hmm, I think I like the idea.” She kissed him again. “Another cat and a bat chasing each other over the rooftops of Gotham. So romantic.” She whispered against his lips.
“I think your idea of romance is kind of skewered.” He said, amused.
“But I managed to snatch you, so it worked.”
Both giggled softly, letting the floating music and the moonlight accompany them as they contemplated the changes that would come to the family after tonight.
Bruce could already feel the incoming headache just thinking about it.
---
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thedawningofthehour · 3 months
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I just saw that post from four days ago about the threats you received, and I liked how you ended it because as a teenager I can say that teenagers are stupid.
I don't like going around saying that I'm better than most people my age, but genuinely, they're all so stupid and irresponsible. I don't understand. Of course, I'm still learning, but as I've gotten more mature I've started hating kids and teenagers because of how stupid they are. Most of them don't even care if they hurt someone else but when I do I feel like the worst person in the world. And then I hide from them for the rest of my life. And developed self-worth issues that may have already been present., but that's beside the point. Teenagers and kids just don't see the reason why people try to be kind. And that sucks, because in history kids grew up way faster than we do now. Something changed, and it could be any number of things. Social Media, Public School systems (by the way, who on earth thought it was a good idea to put a bunch of irresponsible, easily influenced children with a single adult. They're learning bad habits from each other, not good ones from the teacher. It should be the other way around. Kids are meant to grow up with lots of good adult influences). There's just so much wrong with today's society. I can't even write it all.
"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places." -Iroh (ATLA)
I'm very religious, so I don't swear, drink, smoke, stuff like that, and I think those standards and my parents childhoods definitely played a part in how I think today. Of course, everyone's lives are different and anything could cause anything, but I'm really sad how unhappy and careless people are nowadays. Kids should be taught to be kind to others, not just striving for their own joy. True happiness always comes from gratitude.
(If you haven't seen it already, check out Nothing Ever Changes by Nico Collins)
The world is stupid. A lot of people are cruel, and it shouldn't be this way but people don't care enough to change. It's sad, honestly. I've really enjoyed when you touch on stuff like that in Third from the Son because I feel like someone else sees the same things I do.
Good luck navigating the absolute monstrosity that is today's world, and thanks for providing us all with such an amazing story.
- A kind of sort of maybe mature teenager.
...Well. This is a lot to unpack.
So first of all! I do not think that today's children are any stupider or less mature than my generation or the generations before. Quite the contrary-I think you guys are doing great considering the 'gestures to everything in the world'. You guys are well educated and you want to make a difference. You want the world to be better. I think that's wonderful and I'm really proud of all my younger readers.
It's just that...teenagers are dumbasses. All of them. You guys have limited experience and your brains just aren't braining all the way. Even the smartest, most mature teenager is going to be fathoms wiser in ten years-if they aren't, something's gone wrong. That's just how wisdom works. Even if you're starting with a strong base, you still need time and experience to develop that. (this circles back to my thing about Donnie doing a bunch of dumb shit in the show-because yes, he's a genius, his brain is so big it literally alters the shape of his skull, and he's also a moron because he's fourteen) I know a lot of teenagers will really dislike hearing that, lord knows I hated hearing it when I was in high school. But five years from now you're going to be a greatly improved version of yourself and you're going to look back on your current self and roll your eyes. Maybe smile with fondness. But you will be different, and hopefully you will be better. I graduated in 2013 thinking I was super wise and mature. I'm wiser now, and in 2035 I hope I'll be wiser still. (if we're even still here by then)
And the idea that 'kids grew up faster' in the past is just false. Kids worked more, sure. They got sick more, died more, experienced loss more. But the whole idea that kids were considered full-grown adults the moment they hit puberty, married off and forced to start having babies and shit? Patently false. For one thing, people historically lived in multi-generational homes, so a lot of the things we associate with 'growing up' now-moving out, supporting yourself on your own income, blahblah-just really wasn't a thing. And apart from the nobility, people didn't marry and start families much younger than they do now. It was pretty common to wait until your twenties. Late teens sometimes, but those were often "shit I'm pregnant quick marry me so we can pass the baby off as an eight pound preemie" situations. (we really underestimate how many illegitimate babies were born before birth control, in many cultures it really wasn't a big deal) Teenagers of the past had more responsibilities, yes. They were still stupid about them. And often that stupidity had bigger consequences than their dumbassery immortalized on the internet.
I'm glad those responsibilities aren't on them now. That was messed up, kids shouldn't have been responsible for raising their siblings or making sure their families were fed. I love public school. I love education, it's actually very good for children developmentally to progress with peers rather than just trying to copy adults. I think social media is very much a double-edged sword, I think there are advantages to having it but I can't deny the negative effect it has, especially on kids and teenagers. It's a complicated issue and I haven't read every study there is about it, plus I want ice cream and don't feel like going into it right now.
And dude, I graduated from a Catholic high school. I knew a lot of kids who thought their godliness and purity made them more mature and put them above their peers. For one, most of them started partying like crazy the moment they got to college and got into tons of trouble that way, but they were all still idiots. There's nothing inherently immature about cursing or drinking a beer. It's absolutely fine if you're not into that scene, I wasn't either and I'm still not. But it doesn't make you better than the people who are.
I'm sorry if this comes off as dickish, that's not my intention. When I was eighteen I also thought I was better than my classmates. I was not.
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bebobeboben · 5 months
Text
Hi! @ligiawrites, I'm the anon who asked about the story a few days ago. sorry it's taken so long I got shy and didn't want to post it😭😭
(disclaimer: I haven't played the game in a while so forgive me for any ooc behaviour and/or canon divergence)
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
“We cannot be together, My Liege. You are to be King, and I am nothing more than a Knight from a simple bourgeoisie. I am your servant.”
“But Adicia...”
“Mathias.”
He looks shocked. Why won't he understand what I'm saying is for his own good. A King and a Knight...
We would have never worked.
“We may have spent a night together all those years ago, yes, but that does not mean my feelings for you now are the same as then.”
I step forward and peered into his eyes when I realised, he was drunk.
His face was flushed; his pupils blown. All the emotions he had bottled up had spilt. I should've realised; we had done so well in avoiding talking about this, it was obvious that one of us would be inebriated when we finally had this conversation.
It mattered not what I said from here on out, it would all be forgotten. Hazy memories from a drunken dream. He would not believe it real, even if I had mentioned it. He has had plenty of dreams about me, he had told me as such.
I reached out to cup his face with one of my hands. He relaxed at my touch, much unlike how he reacts without the help of alcohol,
“I care for you, Mathias. I really do. But we can't ever be together. As I said before, you are the next King. You're to be coronated tomorrow. Neither of us need the consequences of a relationship at mind. What would the nobles of high society think? What would your mother think?”
He looks uncertain. He stays quiet, in the dark I'm not sure if he’s fallen asleep in my hands or merely contemplating what I've said .
“Mathias.”
“I, I don't care what the nobles think. Or what mother thinks! I love you Adicia! More than anything. A world without being with you is not a world worth living for.”
I've noticed that on the occasions he gets drunk, he always has a flare for theatrics.
“I'll always be with you Mathias, just... not in the sense you're hoping. One day you will be betrothed to someone beautiful, someone who can help you rule, and you'll forget all about the feelings you have for me. You and I will simply be a fleeting memory.”
“I could never forget you Adicia. I'll find a way for us to be together. Just wait. When I'm King nobody will dare to say a word against me.”
I smile, whenever he puts his mind to something, it's always been hard to sway him.
We draw closer the fire crackling being the only sound in the room apart from our breathing. He puts his hands on my waist and pulls me flush against him. My heavy metal armour pressing against the soft fabric of his clothes. I wonder if it hurts. The hand I left on his cheek moves upwards and becomes entangled in his long hair. He moves his face forward just centimetres away from mine and I can feel his breath on my face. He draws closer still. I wonder if he understands the complications of what would happen if people found out about this. About us.
And even with all the protesting I had done earlier, I wished for this with every fibre of my being.
Our lips finally touch, and its soft.
So soft, I could barely feel it against my lips. I want more. I want to kiss him harder, to replicate that night, all those years ago.
But we can’t. I pull away from him. He’s confused. A sad smile plays at my lips.
“Good night, Mathias,” I tuck a strand of hair behind his ear, “You need to be well rested for tomorrow.”
With that I turn and head for the hidden door leading to my chambers. The last thing I see before heading into my room his is face. A mixture of hurt, and betrayal. It seems he thought our feelings were mutual. That we would both do anything for us to be together.
I stare at him for a moment before fixing my expression into the one I always wear around him. One of indifference. As if I don't care about him. When it's in fact the opposite. Once again, he looks shocked.
I finally head into my chambers and close the door. How I feel about him now doesn't matter. Because tomorrow we will go back to playing our roles. His, the Crown Prince of Opala, and mine, the outcast knight.
Tomorrow we will act as though this never happened. We will act as though we didn’t confess our love. Act as though we didn't kiss. As though we never shared a night together. As though the feelings between us don't exist. Just as we had always done.
But can we keep it up much longer? He knows now that I truly love him too. But will he act on it, is the question. He knows he is to be King, and he knows what the consequences of our relationship would be.
Before we were King and Knight, we were Prince and Whipping boy.
Whipping boy. It mattered not that I was a woman. I wasn’t a proper noble by anyone’s standards.
To be in a relationship with him would cause this country’s faith in him to crumble. It was already weak, given that we had only just won the war against Topazio by the skin of our teeth.
A King with a country that didn’t love him? I would not let that happen. I had promised the Queen after all. But I had also promised her that I would remember one thing; to keep the boundaries between me and Mathias in place. After all she had done for me, how could I refuse? She knew of our feelings and yet she said that anyway.
If it was for the sake of my Kingdom, I would do anything. But it makes me wonder, for the sake of Mathias, what wouldn’t I do? This is why I will close my heart off. To him, to the Queen, to everyone. Closing my heart to him is the only way Mathias can grow into a good King for his country. I would only hinder him.
Perhaps once he becomes King, I will leave. My current status could never make up for my sins. Knight Valência would make a better Dragon Commander than I. A better bodyguard too.
I can hear thumps and crashes coming from Mathias’s room. He is either being attacked, or, in his drunken state, fumbling around in the dark. It makes me smile, to think of My Prince stumbling in the dark like a fool. It all stops, and soft snores begin to be heard.
Waiting a few moments to confirm he is asleep; I begin to remove the heavy armour. Placing it on its wooden stand. It feels as though a literal weight is being lifted off my shoulders. Although the real weight I carry will never be lifted. I place my sword beside my bedside and climb into bed. It would take a while for sleep to truly set in. I must not allow my feelings to take control of me, as they just had. It could jeopardise the safety of My Liege and those surrounding us.
I dream again that night, one of many. I dream of Mathias, of what we are and what we could’ve been. I dream of my family, something I had not done in a long time. I dream of Mandra- Mandreis. Of what happened that day. How they reacted to what happened, and how I wish I did things differently.
There were many things as to which I was uncertain after our confrontation, but there was one thing I was certain for: no matter what, I would do what was necessary for my country and My Prince- no, My King. Whether it be staying with him for the rest of my days or leaving without a trace.
Before myself, My Liege would always come first. Which is why we can never be together.
I close my eyes and once again succumb to sleep's warm embrace.
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calciumcryptid · 1 year
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lurker here, I just gotta ask, since ua is a point of extreme criticism in your bnha stories, what are your full opinions on both aizawa and nedzu (ik they're not the only 2, but their actions are a lot more influential at how ua runs things) since I believe those two are the reasons why ua is why it is in both canon and fanon stuff ive seen?
Isn't that a loaded question?
To get this out of the way I do not think Aizawa is a bad hero. He is shown to be a skilled combatant, has mastery over his quirk, and generally knows what he is doing on the field.
However, he is a dogshit teacher.
He routinely ignores his class in favor of sleep, he can't recognize signs of abuse and bullying among his students, he expels entire classrooms of students (more on that later), he shows at least an extent of favoritism because if we are to believe his expulsion record then why else is Bakugou and Mineta still enrolled, his logical ruses are pointless at best and cause trust issues at worth, and to be honest his teaching methods are shit judging by his admittance that Vlad King is a better teacher during the Joint-Training Arc.
Back to the expulsion point, is Aizawa aware that by his expulsion of entire classrooms of students he is effectively ruining their lives?
Japan places high values on education as both a country and a society. It is one of the most influential factors in a citizen's life as it affects both employment and socioeconomic growth.
Upon expelling a student, Aizawa has effectively left a black mark on their record. From a normal school, this could put them a minimum wage job for the rest of their life. From an elite hero school, this could make them jobless for the rest of their life. The idea that Aizawa expelled them only to re-enroll them later and for them to be grateful for it is either a disgustingly ignorant or intentionally malicious choice on Horikoshi's part.
While Aizawa may eventually remove that mark, he is still controlling students through fear by threatening them with essentially poverty.
That isn't even taking into account how many current or former students of him have mutant quirks, have darker skin, are LGBTQIA+ in some way, or other factors that would feed into societal discrimination.
Once again, he essentially threatens them with death for what? Not understanding what they're getting into when it comes to training to be a hero? No one knows what they are getting into becoming a hero or the sacrifices they'll have to make from physical strain, social exposure, and mental exhaustion.
He ultimately suffers from what most BNHA characters suffer from, misunderstanding what makes certain tropes work. He is supposed to be another closed off but secretly caring anime teacher, but what makes those characters work is the fact they aren't teaching in a classroom but rather outside of one in non-school circumstances.
As for Nezu, it is more complicated because we don't see as much as him or know as much about him as we do with Aizawa. What we do know is that he doesn't like humans and judging by UA and his actions as a principal he really seems hellbent on destroying the hero career and the humans within his care (the robots for the simulations and entrance exam, having teachers go all out for final exams, the crowding them all into dorms, the shit security towards the beginning). For him it is more a question of how he can be the principal.
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