#is v confident in his own skills and ''advancements'' so to speak

[iseullgc]

CASTING CALL 016 / SOLO INTERVIEW

when he hears of the opportunity to join the new kids new dreams project, iseul knows that he wants to try out for it. or whatever they're being requested to do.

honestly, he's a bit disappointed when he finds out it's only an interview and not an audition. but he guesses that it means their personalities are as much a part of this as their skills.

or something.

but he knows that he's going to try for it, even if he doesn't make it, that just means he did his best right? and he's only been training for a short period of time, so it didn't hurt him to put more experiences under his belt either. so he schedules an interview with youngjae and he settles down in his seat once the time has come.

"why are you interested in NEWKIDS NEWDREAMS?" ( answer: 157 spoken words )

"honestly, i just wanted to give it a try," iseul admits, looking a little bit sheepish as he rubs the back of his neck. he doesn't really have much else to add but he decides that now isn't the time to act shy or anything—not when his personality is literally anything but.

"dancing has just always been a passion of mine and i thought that if anything, i could just try out. i didn't even think i would get into legacy a year and a half ago, but thankfully i've been given this great opportunity that anyone would die for! so, i thought once i was in, i had to do anything i could to keep going and to advance. especially since legcy has so many artists that i love the music of, and i have some friends in the debuted groups, i just thought i have to catch up to them, you know? i have to do well and i have to stand on stage with them one day, you know?"

he takes a pause there, trying to think if there was anything else he wanted to add before they moved onto the next question. "if anything, i wanted to be able to show who i am in as candid a way as possible to the people who are already cheering me on."

"considering the current confirmed members, what can you add to the formation ON AND OFF stage if you are picked?" ( answer: 262 spoken words )

"i know two of the confirmed members pretty well, and i can say pretty confidently that i'll be adding a good dancer to the mix. not to say that there aren't any good dancers already, of course." he's quick to fix his statement, waving his hands in front of him to make sure that youngjae wasn't getting the wrong idea of what he was saying.

"i'm also an extrovert and i'm good at making friends, so hopefully i would bring everyone together well? considering i know two of them pretty well already, and if you're taking interviews for other members, i might know them too!" iseul is a self-proclaimed social butterfly, but he's sure that he would be able to back that up just by pointing out how many friends he's made in the trainee roster since he joined only a year ago.

he's trying to think of anything else that he's good at, and he tilts his head slightly side to side. "i'm also a native english speaker, so that would be helpful on shows, right? i watched some v&a shows, and i saw that versus went to the states for a while so if i," he lowers his voice, "make it into the group," and goes back to his normal speaking volume, "i could definitely help with the language barrier there! i'm used to translating from korean to english and english to korean so it wouldn't be any trouble! i've gotten really good recently at translating the slang—you know how koreans really like to shorten sentences and just use the first character of each word? i recently got the knack of translating that into english, so that could be .... helpful i guess!"

pausing again, he hesitates for a moment before adding, right as yougnjae is about to ask the next question. "sorry, sorry! i'll just add, i also know how to edit videos. so if we ever like, got a chance to do something like that. like, edit our own vlogs and upload them online or something. that would be something i could do."

he stops, and then grins sheepishly. "and i'm a good cook. no one will starve when i'm around, i promise! i almost went to culinary school but i came here instead! ... you can ask the next question now."

which skill (singing, dancing, acting, modelling, instrument ...) would you like to be known for and why? ( answer: 186 spoken words )

this question throws him for a second, because as much as he liked yapping about what he thought he could bring to the table in a group, it's harder to think about himself as an individual. mostly because he had never had any plans on going solo or anything and would probably be happy to see his friends and groupmates shine before he did.

"if i'm very, very honest, i would say dancing. if only because dancing has been a love of mine since i was younger and it's one of the only things that kinda dragged me out of a slump i found myself in before." he doesn't want to go too deeply into those times, and how dancing had literally saved his life.

his fingers move to grip at his forearm, almost subconsciously touching the tattoo there. "it's hard to think of anything else i would want to be known for ... like, skill-wise at least. i could easily say i want to be known as a good cook in the group, and that i'm loud and annoying but still a nice person when it comes down to it. but none of that is related to a skill right?

"if not dancing, i think i wouldn't mind being known for being funny? like, a good variety personality since that's something i think i would be good at. i can always find the humour in any situation, which is why all of my friends always say that i'm really easy to make laugh. and then sometimes my laugh sets them off, and we always end up giggling about something or another. i think variety would be something i could be good at."

"what kind of concept are you good at and what kind of concept are you bad at?" ( answer: 198 spoken words )

"oh, i can easily answer for the one i'm bad at—a cute concept. my friends always say that my aegyo is cringey and that they hate seeing it, though in hindsight maybe that's because my friends don't want to see that sort of stuff?" he pauses, pursing his lips at the afterthought that had just come up and maybe he's good at that sort of thing? maybe he's really cute but his friends just hate cute things?

who knows at this point. he'll have to ask them eventually, if he ever remembers to.

"i do think personally i wouldn't be able to pull off a cute concept, because that's not something i try to emulate in dancing or in my real life. i'm just sort of ... an energetic person. so i would have to say that's the type of concept i think i would be good at. like, upbeat songs that make you want to dance."

thinking of another point to that, iseul perks up a bit in his seat. "or, i don't know if this counts, but something along the genre of 'noise music' as fans like to call it. something powerful but upbeat, and the song concept could be light or dark but the dance is really great and hard? i think that would be really great for me, because i have a lot of energy and i want to express that as well as i can with dance. really just, a dance-focused group would be my dream and if we could add good live vocals too? perfection."

"what kind of group would you ideally want to be part of and why?" ( answer: 161 spoken words )

"i think i would really like to be in a group that's known for energetic performances," he starts, once he's received the prompt and the examples. he had been a bit confused at the initial question but it makes sense now that he has some examples to go along with it.

"like a group that's really good at performing with great live vocals and really hard dances to go along with the vocals," he adds, trying to figure out how to explain his dream group. "i want to be known as a good dancer but i also want to be known as a stable vocalist who sings well even while dancing to a difficult choreography—and even better if the choreography is self-done as well." he grins, feeling a little bit proud of his own achievements in that category but otherwise not wanting to try to sell himself too much while answering this question.

"i'm not trying to say all of the above right now, but outside of that, i think it would be fun if the group could also be known for non-idol content. like if we could go viral on tiktok or on youtube or something, since i'm decently versed in video editing, that could be really fun? we could do a lot of tiktok challenges outside of just the title song dance ones and maybe make a presence on there too? just a thought," he finishes up, grinning a little.

with all the questions answered, iseul stands up and bows ninety degrees to thank everyone for giving him the opportunity before leaving with a slight bounce in his step. he's not sure what the results are going to be, but he's glad he tried out anyway.

#lgc:castingcall016 #( & solo ) #( honestly i'm sorry ... iseul just wouldn't shut up ) #( & wc: 1577 )

[bakerolivias-archived]

i love it when caroline’s sent over to do a Covert Mission and not exactly seduce klaus but occupy his time, to be the distraction so to speak *rolls eyes for an eternity* and then they get to talking and she finds she actually enjoys hearing about him/getting to know him, and while caroline’s definitely manipulating the circumstances to her advantage klaus and caroline also enjoy each other’s company

and i mean it’s superficial at best if the writers don’t develop it but also their dynamic is insane, thematically speaking, and no one else was able to replicate it (which is not entirely a bad thing but i digress)

#tvd lb #my bbs #discussing humanity and the merits of vampirism #like idk that klaus is entirely happy being the kind of person who alienates his family and doesn't trust anyone #and he enjoys cruelty in some sense #that's v sick and twisted #but he also likes how fundamentally enhanced and strong vampirism makes him #is v confident in his own skills and ''advancements'' so to speak #and it's a nice parallel to how caroline felt powerful and strengthened by her own transition into vampirism #how her journey led her to being waaayyyy less insecure than she was at the beginning #and how she gained confidence in the knowledge #of her worth and self sufficiency #she doesn't need tyler or klaus or stefan to prove her worth #or any male characters' attentions #and the reason i like these three as love interests for her so much is because they all /know/ that #they know what a wonderful and incredible person caroline is #and has the potential to be #even if these dynamics are vastly different #and the way the writers are executing KC is shaky at best #idk i just find comfort in this fact #:') #anyways i love 4*07 KC

[sillyrabbit81]

The Instructor Part 2

Summary: You and Agent Walker meet again

Pairing: August Walker x Female Reader

Word Count: approx 2.4k

Warnings: angst, smut, dubious consent, unprotected sex (p in v), fingering

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 3

The Instructor Part 2

A month came and went.

Then six weeks.

Seven.

Eight.

Then you stopped counting.

You felt used, and grew angry. The submissive part of your nature had been taken advantage of and you swore it wouldn’t happen again. Never again would you allow your desires to be seen by any man, let alone by Agent Walker. You collect your memories of him, gather them into a box, seal it tight and bury it in the darkest corner of your mind. You don’t even bring it out on lonely nights anymore, it hurts too much.

You focus on work and fall into your new routine: wake up, work out, work late, eat take out, sleep, repeat. The days soon melted into one, weekends forgotten as the routine is the same as weekdays. Your work was repetitive and uninspiring. You were a junior Agent after all. You knew to expect a few years of grunt work before anything meaningful. You kept your head down and did what you had to do, hoping your diligence paid off and the higher ups noticed.

Despite your hard work, you were surprised when you were called into your boss’s office for a new assignment. She tells you that an opening came up on a surveillance team in the field focussed on a group of foreign nationals. She told you strictly that there would be no interaction with the group, surveillance only. You agree to the new posting, thankful for the break in monotony and chance to develop your skills.

“Just a moment, here is the lead Agent now.” She says.

You turn as the door opens and Agent Walker strolls in, his clipped yet casual gait doesn’t falter as he notices you. A lump rises in your throat as you see him for the first time in months. You don’t know how to feel, but your body reacts. With a pounding heart and clenching stomach, you keep your features smooth as possible, allowing the smallest hint of a smile to widen your lips. An appropriate response to seeing your old instructor, nothing more, nothing less. His eyes flicker with recognition, his small smile and nod was just as appropriate. He says to your boss, “Is this the addition to the team?”

“Do you two know each other?”

You don’t deny it. You’re not stupid enough to believe your boss doesn’t know every Agent you’ve ever interacted with so you say, “Of course, Agent Walker was one of my instructors at The Farm.” Boldly you continue speaking more for Walker’s benefit than your boss, “But I haven’t seen him in… what is it Agent? Four months?”

“Four and a half,” he replies, with a tilt of the head.

“Four and a half,” you repeat. Like bile rising in your throat, anger fills you and for a moment you know he sees it. Forcing the rising tide of fury down you say, “Well, time flies when you’re having fun.” You bare your teeth at him in what you hope your boss takes as a smile and Walker takes for the ‘fuck you’ it was. Walker narrows his eyes at you then turns his attention to your boss.

You discuss more details of the case and travel arrangements then you are dismissed. Leaving the two of them together you tidy your desk of personal belongings since you didn’t know when or if you would return and go home to prepare.

Once you are through the gates of Langley and no longer under direct video surveillance you start to shake. Seeing him again rocked you to your core you hoped you hadn’t given anything away with your comments. Was it a coincidence that you were promoted and put in his team or had he asked for you? Neither Walker or your boss had given anything away. No time to think about it now, you had packing to do and less than two hours to get to the airbase where you would be sent to DC for the job.

You showered quickly, resisting the urge to release some of the growing tension in your gut. You hadn’t touched yourself in months and you wouldn’t start now.

Trying to push thoughts of Agent Walker from your mind was a futile task. Instead you focussed on keeping your anger raw so you wouldn’t fall under his spell again. You had accepted that he wasn’t coming back. Did he have a knack for that? Only showing himself to you when you had moved on. You wouldn’t let him take you easily this time, this time he would not get satisfaction, not after what he had done. You shake your head, ‘this time’ you say, recognising the lies you tell yourself.

You start to get dressed when you hear a short rap on the door. Fuck, the car had arrived early. You pull a robe on as you answer the door, to let the driver know you’ll be a few more minutes.

Throwing the door wide, you’re greeted by Agent Walker, his face firm, furrowed brows looking you up and down. The collar of his dark woollen coat is pulled up, framing his face drawing your attention to his piercing stare. Frozen for a moment, you can do nothing but return his gaze. You’re a deer in headlights until he sucks his lower lip into his mouth and your body is propelled into action.

You slam the door closed, but he is quicker than you, a huge paw catching it and he forces his way into your apartment. You back away, but he kicks the door closed behind him and advances, with predatorily confident and rapid steps.

He catches your throat and brings you to him. He skin is rough with unshaven hair that is yet to grow soft. His lips are so smooth and warm, that you can’t help but melt into him. You hate him.

When he pulls away, he smiles at you almost sweetly and you can’t help the hand that flies on its own and makes a loud crack as it hits Walkers cheek.

You’re both stunned. Walker tongues his cheek and works his jaw a moment. “I hope you enjoyed that, pet. The first one is free, but the next one will come at a price.” He doesn’t seem angry, in fact his tone suggests amusement, which only fuels your rage.

“Get out,” you say. You try and keep your voice steady, but you know it warbled with fear as you looked into his eyes.

“No,” Walker says. He casually removes his coat folding it neatly and laying it over the back of your dining chair. He removes his scarf, placing it on top of his coat before he unbuttons his dark brown suit jacket and loosens his tie. You watch him, mind fixated on each of his careful movements. As if he were performing burlesque show, each minute act became a piece of seduction.

He sits in another chair and pats his lap, “Come, pet.” He calls to you in his gentle authoritative voice.

Before you can stop yourself, you take a step towards him. But then you notice his smirk, and you shrink away. You can’t speak but you shake your head as you retreat towards your bedroom.

Walker starts to look irritated and his voice gains a hard edge that both terrifies you and thrills you. “Come. Here,” he repeats. “I won’t say it again, pet.”

“Fuck you, Walker,” you spit out, your anger spilling from you, becoming a torrent as you wrestle within yourself.

He peers at you with his contemplating blue eyes. Then he sighs and moves before you can even register his actions. You turn, to run, but he is quicker and stronger. But more than that, his desire to have you is stronger than your desire to run.

His vice like arms trap you as he forces you against the wall, his body pressing into your back. “Why do you fight me, pet?” His voice rumbles into your ear. “I thought we had an understanding.”

Your tears came then, the rejection you felt was no longer able to be contained. That box of memories, buried for months smashes apart and so does your control. “You left me,” you sob. “You used me then left me.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, ashamed at how quickly you relented and told him anything. You laugh at yourself, why did you believe even for a second you could hide anything from him? The only man who saw into your very soul.

“I know, pet,” Walker drones, his lips caressing your ear as he does. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

“I know,” you reply.

His hand is in your hair, smoothing the strands away from your face. His tender touch was unexpected but welcome. You feel soft kisses on your eye lids and you slowly stop crying. His tongue comes out, licking at your wet cheeks and you hear his breathing shudder as he laps up your pain.

You open your eyes, he growls as your shining eyes meet his. He plants a foot between your legs forcing them apart while he undoes his belt and pants and you hear them crumple to the floor. His hand tilts your hips back for him while the other pulls aside your underwear as he roughly explores your centre, coating his fingers in your arousal.

You hear a muttered, “Fuck,” as his finger enters you, circling your walls, stretching you before a second enters. “Fuck, pet. Have you touched yourself at all since I fucked you?”

Unsure of what he would think, you reply hesitantly, “No. You said I was yours.”

Walkers features soften as he says, “I knew you were a good girl.” Your whole body bursts into flames and your core clenches around his thick, thrashing fingers as you hear his whispered praise.

With precise and sudden movements, his fingers are withdrawn and his broad, leviathan cock bludgeons into you. Biting down on your lips to supress the cry growing in your throat you savour the feeling of being torn apart. Wasting no time, Walker moves with vicious, aggressive speed, wounding you with his thrusts, ripping apart your defences.

Pulling down your robe, he exposes your chest. His wanton hands knead your breasts as he uses them for leverage, his pounding never stops. You hear his breaths primal and raw as he assaults your neck with his mouth and teeth. He moves his depraved mouth to your shoulders sinking his teeth in deep. The pain feels like a caress when you are this close to the edge.

Walker turns you around, lifts your leg to his hip as he enters you again. His eyes are clinical as he studies your reaction. You feel boneless under his scrutiny and close your eyes again looking away. Walker grips your throat in his hand and uses his long fingers to push your cheek back in his direction.

“Open your eyes, pet,” he orders. “I know you’re close. I want to see your eyes when you call my name.”

The pressure builds deep within your gut as you keep your eyes glued to his. His breath, warm and minty with a hint of gin maybe, tickles at your cheek. You want to kiss him, taste him, feel his tongue invade you and devour you. You silently beg him to and as if hearing your thoughts, he slowly moves his mouth to yours. His eyes stay open as he flicks his tongue over your lips before taking your lower lip between his teeth.

Like a taut elastic, your core grows tighter and your knee gives out as the rush of warmth whips through your body. He lets go of your lip in time for you to shout “August!”

Your body pulses and your tightening muscles strain with contractions until you feel all the tension fall away. Like a rag doll you slump against him. But he isn’t finished with you.

Walker lifts your lulling head with a firm thumb under your chin, He continues his frenzied thrusts with a new vigour having succeeded in his task. He fucks your listless body, you’re too spent to move, and he doesn’t care. With a stuttering final thrust he pushes deep into you, clenching his teeth, whiskered lip raised in a snarl as he growls with his final throes.

He raised his hand to your face, his thumb laying a single burning caress down your tear stained cheek. “Go wash up, I’ll pack for you,” he says before pulling away and doing up his pants.

You shower again, consciously cleaning August’s seed spilling slowly from your ruined core. Each time you think you’re clean, you feel more leaking from you and you wash again. The bathroom door opens and August enters making a show of looking at his watch.

You sigh, and turn the shower off. His eyes inspect your body as he hands you a towel. He makes no effort to leave as he watches you towel off and you awkwardly squeeze past him as you make your way to your bedroom. He has laid an outfit on your bed, complete with underwear and shoes. Your gun is on your bed in its holster with spare clips by its side. You don’t say anything to him and dress in the clothes he chose and slipped your holster onto your belt, pocketing the spare clips.

Walker is waiting at the door with your overnight bag in his hand. You give the apartment a quick look over, making sure everything is turned off and sling your handbag over your shoulder. August opens the door for you, and as you slip past him his arm wraps around your waist and he kisses you.

The deep demanding kiss you wanted earlier was nothing compared to this, his lips were bruising and hard, but his tongue explored your mouth with a soft insistence. Your hands were free and for the first time, you touched him, laying a hesitant hand on his chest, and another on his neck. His skin felt hot under yours and testing his limits you slid your fingers into his hair and were rewarded with a barely audible groan.

Then he pulled his head away with a jerk and without looking at you said, “Go to the car. You’re making us late.”

Disappointed but not surprised you went to the car wondering where this assignment would take the two of you.

Part 3

Tag List

@henryobsessed @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @posiemax @nostalgicb-txh @moonlacebeam @anitababi @agniavateira

#august walker #august walker x reader #august walker x you #henry cavill #mission impossible fallout #august walker smut #august walker fanfiction #Henry Cavill fanfiction

[regencyslxt]

In His Defense

1555 words.

Imagine Bucky catching you defending him at work.

warning: like 1 swear word.

You had been in the office now for around 7 hours. You were an agent in training, however, so far despite the sparring and training you had done in the compound with Steve and the other Avengers you were yet to progress further than your desk. You wouldn’t have minded, you knew your computer skills were advanced, if it weren’t for a couple of agents on your floor who didn’t quite understand that sound travels. Meaning every word that slipped past their lips, you heard. And you ignored it too, that was until they started talking about the blue-eyed god Steve always brought to your training sessions.

Bucky Barnes. Ex Hydra assassin turned hero. Your work crush. In fact, he was your crush out of work too. He seemed to have wormed his way into your every thought, not that you were complaining. He had been nothing short of a sweetheart. Holding doors open when he sees you coming, telling you good morning when you get to work early. Let’s not even talk about his constant encouragement during 1 v 1’s. He could sweep you flat on your ass and he’d still tell you what a great job you’d done. God you were whipped. And the worst part is, you knew he didn’t think of you even remotely close to the way you thought of him. How could he? You weren’t an avenger; you weren’t even a field agent yet.

Anyways, you could handle your co-workers (not that you enjoyed working with them) gossiping about you.

“Look at her, it’s no wonder Fury hasn’t put her out on the field yet.”

“She’s always glued to that screen and if she not staring at her monitor, she’s staring at Agent Barnes.”

“It’s so pathetic.”

You were used to it. Ever since they found out about your little crush on Barnes they hadn’t shut up about it. It was to be expected, it was all they were good for. The last mission they went on together went bust, they gave away their position within a half-hour of them arriving and almost got the team they were with killed. Dumbasses.

Recently, however, instead of focussing on you they had directed their attention to the metal armed veteran that walked through the corridors.

“I can’t believe he’s here…like how many people did he kill, and we’re just expected to work happily alongside him, I don’t think so” one scoffed.

“I know, I guess being best friends with Captain America means everyone turns a blind eye.”

…

“Do you think he remembers? I hope he does.”

“He doesn’t deserve to forget.”

…

You were very well aware of what he had done in his past, who wasn’t? You were also aware, though, of how hard he was trying to make amends. How every day he was trying hard to figure himself out, to figure out who he was before the Winter Soldier. So, when these two agents couldn’t keep their mouths shut for five minutes whilst the avengers were meeting in the conference room, you found yourself biting your tongue.

“He should’ve stayed frozen, maybe then they could get a mission done without having to worry about a random Russian guy triggering him.”

“Imagine actually trying to convince everyone he’s a good person after what he did, what a joke.”

You turned to them, unable to hold your tongue any longer.

“Can you guys shut up? I mean is it so hard for you both to just sit down and do the job you’re being paid to do instead of chatting shit because the last time I checked that wasn’t on the job description…” you spoke out.

They both looked at you wide-eyed.

“Excuse me? Who do you think you are?”

“It doesn’t matter but I know you know who I am because you’ve had nothing but my name in your mouth since I started.”

You stand from your chair and walk over to them. They step back a touch. The conference room doors open behind you as you go.

“What I do want to know, is what makes you think you have the right to stand here and criticise Agent Barnes for moving on with his life. For trying to fix everything he’s done. He feels bad enough as it is, he doesn’t need you two chiming in with your rude comments every time he walks past or makes an appearance. So, you can stand here and act all high and mighty but in reality you’re both crap at your jobs. I genuinely don’t know how you managed to be let in the field because as soon as anything happens around here you are both the first ones to cower away and tuck your tails between your legs,” You exclaim.

They stand there, mouths gaping trying to think of something to say but they fall short.

“Y/N…” a low voice speaks from behind you.

Your body tenses and you inhale a sharp breath. You close your eyes and look down at your feet, all the confidence you had before was now washed away. You had done it now, all the time you had spent forming a friendship with the man was now wasted. You really didn’t want to turn to face him but you knew you would have to at some point so you slowly spun on your heels to face his direction. His boots were a nice view, at least that’s what you told yourself knowing you couldn’t bring yourself to look elsewhere.

“Look at me please...” he whispers, stepping closer to you. He looked towards Steve and the others and silently pleading for them to leave.

“I think we have somewhere else to be don’t you think guys?” A round of murmured agreements could be made out.

“You two as well, I’m sure Fury wants a word with you both.” Steve motioned for the two agents to follow him, and they quickly made their way over and trailed behind him.

It was just you and him now. His hand made its way to your chin and he tilted your head up.

“There you are…” he chuckles. You can feel your cheeks burning as he stares at you.

“Come on doll, don’t get all shy on me now. You weren’t shy 2 minutes go.” He laughs at your embarrassed expression.

“That’s not funny! “you groan.

“I didn’t know you were all there…I would’ve kept my mouth shut if I had.”

“Are you telling me you wouldn’t have defended me?”

“NO, I just meant that- I mean- You- “You let out a huff of air.

“You don’t need me to defend you, you’re James Barnes. You can quite easily defend yourself…”

“That is true but it’s so much nicer having a doll like you do it for a change,” he smirks as he traces his fingers down the length of your arm, taking your hand in his.

“And I’m hoping since you spoke so highly of me before, that I might actually have a chance with you.” He quirked an eyebrow. You gaped at the man in front of you.

“A chance? With me? You want a chance with me?” To say you were shocked was an understatement. To be honest you weren’t sure if your ears were playing tricks on you or not.

“Y/N you can’t seriously be that oblivious can you?”

“Oblivious to what?” What on earth was happening?

“You seriously haven’t realised that you’re the only trainee I force myself to talk to. It’s not because I have to, but because your voice is the only thing I want to hear at 8 o’clock in the morning when I’m still half asleep. You are the only person that makes my mind go blank, that’s why even if I want to spend my entire day talking to you all I can bring myself to say is good morning. You fluster me Y/N Y/L/N, and it’s an issue because Sam won’t leave me alone about it.”

You laugh softly, still completely in shock at the fact the man you have had feelings for since you got the job here is currently confessing his feelings for you.

“So to answer your question yes, I am asking if I have a chance with you.” his hands wrap around your waist and he pulls you close, his eyes move to meet yours and your breath catches in your throat. You blink up at him, moving your own hands to the nape of his neck, subconsciously playing with his hair.

“I can’t believe this is happening right now,” you admit.

“There isn’t anything on this earth that could make me say no to you Bucky, so yes. I will give you a chance. And one after that, then one after that…” you continue until Bucky catches you in a kiss. You pull back in surprise, but quickly return the kiss, pulling him as close to you as possible.

You both separate a few moments later, Bucky tucking a strand of hair behind your ear as you do. A yawn escapes your lips, and Bucky smiles adoringly at you.

“There’s a coffee shop nearby, we can go get something if you’d like...”

“I’d like that Buck.”

He connects his hand with yours, and you make your way towards the elevator.

“It’s a date.”

#imagine #x reader #regencyslxt #marvel imagine #marvel #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #winter soldier #winter solider x reader

[steak-n-popotoes]

FFXIVWrite ‘21 26 (Extra Credit)

Beef tottered down the stairs from the kitchen, a freshly-prepared miq’abob in hand.

Caranar smiled to him as he watched him enter the V&C workshop.

Beef tottered down the stairs from the kitchen, a freshly-prepared miq’abob in hand.

Caranar was a little concerned as he watched him enter the V&C workshop.

Inside the workshop, however, Tataru was feeling quite confident. “I’ve been practicing my mammet design skills ever since that fiasco with the wind-up Alphinauds, and I’m quite sure that I can produce a likeness that’s consistent in quality with the finest wind-up toys to be had across the realm.” She proudly put her hands on her hips as L’kozu inspected an adorably small mammet of Beef beside the genuine article. “Hand-making them myself also lets me reduce production costs and charge a premium for the low supply.”

L’kozu nodded along as they confirmed the truth of Tataru’s claims with their own eyes. “This is quite good. Certainly a high enough level of quality to consider stocking my own storefront with.” ...Not that they intended to market Beef’s likeness. Maybe he’d want to keep a minion modeled after himself for whatever reason.

Beef nodded in agreement, which prompted L’kozu to smile warmly back.

“Well, yours is more than satisfactory, Tataru. I say we ask Beef’s opinion of mine.”

At about that moment, Beef entered the workshop.

As Beef was already in the workshop, this led to some confusion among the other occupants.

“Wait. Which one is...?”

Both Beefs were engaged in a staring contest of which there was likely to be no winner. Tataru’s mammet, which was thankfully distinguishable from the other two Beefs, was not designed with blinking in mind and would thus have made for a strong contender were it not chasing Gale around the room.

“Rather impressive, isn’t it Beef?” L’kozu asked, no longer certain which was which themselves.

Both Beefs nodded in unison without breaking eye contact.

“I designed my mammet to be true-to-life, so naturally I developed a rather advanced joint in the neck so that it could nod as well as our own Beef.” L’kozu explained, as they suddenly felt a need to explain their choices.

Tataru eyed the miq’abobs each Beef brandished. “Did you craft a mammet that can eat...?”

“No, of course not,” L’kozu said, rather glad they had chosen not to pursue the idea, “and before you ask, it can’t speak either. I had hoped we could differentiate the two by that ability, but I suppose I failed to account for the genuine Beef’s nature.”

“...I’m not certain there’s a market for mammets who rival the work of the Twelve.”

“That may explain why I’ve never been able to get this venture off the ground.”

Having apparently studied each other sufficiently, both Beefs then affixed their stares on L’kozu. Oh dear. A single Beef watching you so intently would already make the hairs on the back of your neck prickle. Maybe this little competition was a terrible idea.

The Beef that had entered the room second gave a full-body shiver that traveled from his toes up to the top of his head. “That’s me.”

#FFxivWrite2021 #Beef Broganoff #L'kozu #Caranar Bairon

[strad-214]

Saturday, 06/13/2020 Teaching/Learning:

“There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge.”

-- The Jedi Code

“A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.”

-- Master Yoda, Star Wars Episode V, Empire Strikes Back

 On this subject, in general, I can say with confidence that I am somewhat of a proficient. I am currently attending college in the efforts of becoming a music teacher. It’s been a very long and difficult journey for me, full of self doubt, wandering thoughts and disassociation, with my fiancée sometimes being my only comfort and relief for many years. But now, my goals are on the horizon, I stand firm in my beliefs, and when I look behind me at the journey it took to get here, I marvel at my progress and am proud… despite the sub-par attitudes concerning my progress by my fellow teacher candidates. I am reminded of the Legends story of Obi-Wan leaving the Jedi Order and returning to the Jedi Order. The novels of the Jedi Apprentice Series, written by Jude Watson, describe the stories of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s partnership, rocky as it is, and the difficulties that Obi-Wan had with overcoming his shadows to become a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan and I share that altered rout kind of path on our careers, our mentors taking extreme pride in our progress simply because it was our progress, and yet our peers believed we could do better, be better, and should change our routs. And yet, those who are most important to our success believe we are models of our fields… something that makes me want to cry whenever a professor expresses that view to me, just because I have suffered so much at my own hands and have come so far… But enough of my self-promotion, let’s talk about a Jedi’s Education.

First, it would be prudent to discuss some finer points of education as a whole: the highest level of learning, according to Bloom’s Taxonomy, is “Creation”. We as people learn best by sitting down and doing things, not by memorizing information out of context and repeating that information back. George Lucas—a savant of the education field himself, believe it or not— once described the best way to learn how to make a shoe. If you were a shoe maker’s apprentice, your master would give you the materials necessary to make the shoe, and send you to the corner of the shop to attempt to make one. You will fail, dozens of times, but, with every failure, you learn more and more how to not make a shoe. In doing so, you inadvertently become an expert on what it doesn’t take to make a shoe; therefore, every time you do make a shoe, the shoes you craft will be perfect. It is up to the master to take the results of your labors and criticize it so you can learn what you did wrong, what changes you need to make, show you how to make those changes, and give you more time and resources to try again. This is the perfect learning environment, because, by jumping to the creation level, you must already apply all the other levels: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, and Evaluating, in that order from the bottom up. You need to remember the instructions you were given and all the other roadblocks you have arrived at already, you need to understand what those instructions are supposed to mean at this juncture and why those various roadblocks occurred, you need to apply what you already know to make progress based off of those instructions and those other failures, you need to analyze your progress based off of your previous attempts to make adjustments, then evaluate your work based off of that analysis, and now you have created a shoe. This hierarchy is the same model basically used by every master-apprentice pairing throughout known history, and can be applied to a classroom as well if the teacher constructs their lessons properly… but we won’t get into that here, I could easily write 5 pages on that alone. Let’s just focus on master-apprentice situations, since that is the majority of the instances we get in Star Wars. I will be most exclusively drawing on my personal experiences as a teacher in training and The Jedi Path.

According to The Jedi Path, Youngling Initiates are organized into Clans that act as their families. These Clans all have similar personalities and ambitions. They attend classes together and learn from each other as they go. The morning classes are for studies of the Force, followed by politics and history, and finally physical training in the afternoon. On top of this, they must meditate at least five times a day on the subjects they have been studying. I would’ve swapped the morning instruction for the afternoon instruction—the Force in the afternoon and the physical exercise in the morning—due to the fact that we all tend to crash in the afternoon. But, perhaps this is to build that impossible endurance that Jedi seem to have. And studies on the Force and its application are very important for the Jedi; perhaps doing those studies in the morning is more affective since this is when we tend to be more motivated to work (once awoken properly). The many facets of the Force that they study will go into my next essay: The Force, which happens to be the first of three pillars of learning the Jedi classify their education by.

This model of learning is similarly based off of a secondary school system: multiple classes scheduled at specific times of day and independent study hours to be pursued on the students’ time. Applying this kind of system to students so young will immediately instill an early sense of responsibility and self investment in the disciplines being delivered. They will have been rushing to get where they go on time since they can remember, they have been independently pursuing their fields of study outside the classroom for long periods of time, multiple times a day since they can remember. This isn’t the worst way to instill a deep root of responsibility and desire to grow early on, so long as the classes are long, varied in instruction, and the students don’t have to change the classes too many times. If the classes are too short, constantly changing rooms and teachers—say, every 30 minutes or so like in High School— and are static in the lesson delivery methods, there will be a drastic loss of information. In our public school system in America, students need consistency in their routines to retain knowledge, which is part of the reason why we don’t consistently change classrooms until later years. At this age range, 3 years to 12 years, we stay in the same classroom for the majority of our day, save for meal times, recess, and extracurricular activities such as gym, art, and music. That’s four different class changes provided you only have one extracurricular class a day. According to the Jedi Order model, there are only three classes and five independent study sessions. Those three classes are all required and the students are expected to meditate on their own time at least 5 times a day. Let’s assume that the three classes do not add up to the amount of time as a 6-7 hour school day, that would be ludicrous, even by Jedi standards. Let’s say more or less, that the classes are about an hour and a half long each, with time in between for meditation, studying, and food. There would be plenty of time throughout the day to get done all that an Initiate would need to get done: Meditation, study, and calisthenics including lightsaber practice. This also provides a variety in activities that will keep the Initiates engaged and focused. Speaking of the latter, a Jedi Initiate only practices the First Form of lightsaber combat, the Shi-Cho or the way of the Sarlacc. This is the most basic of swordplay that the Jedi practice, a foundation upon which all the other forms are taught. As a musician in training, nobody understands having foundations better than I. If you can’t play a simple major scale on your instrument, you can’t hope to perform a whole concerto—a major solo work written specifically for a proficient to show off their expertise. Similarly, if you can’t parry a simple horizontal slice, you can’t possibly practice Form II, Makashi or Form III, Soresu, the first of which focuses exclusively on saber to saber combat and the second of which is a form meant for defense against multiple enemies or to fend off an aggressive attacker until an opening is discovered. Being an Initiate is all about the basics, so let’s now talk about the advanced methods: being a Padawan.

After an Initiate passes their Initiate Trials, showing that they have their basic understanding of Jedi discipline, a Knight will select an Initiate to take as a Padawan Learner. Their apprenticeship will be more like the one of the shoe makers I described earlier. The Knight will provide instruction and exercises for their Padawan to practice on their own time. The Padawan will practice, demonstrate what they have learned, and the Master will provide feedback for the Padawan to analyze and evaluate their own progress with. They will also practice techniques in applying the Force and saber cadences together, so the Padawan can get used to training at an advanced level and learn about how a Knight trains. The Padawan will also go on missions with their Master and watch how they take their role as a Peacekeeper in the Galaxy. Learning by example is one of the best ways a student can perceive what their end goals should be for their own progress. Eventually, once a Padawan has gained enough mastery of their skills, their Master will take them to Ilum to create their own lightsaber (as mentioned in my previous essay, and according to original canon). At this point, the Padawan will have learned all the skills they need to learn and must now focus on refinement. The Padawan  will be taking more lead in missions, acting as an equal to their Master as opposed to just their student, and showing true Mastery of all the abilities a Jedi should have: diplomacy, swordplay, applying the Force to themselves and to the world around them, true compassion, and inner peace. It is at this point that the Padawan is put through the ultimate gauntlet: The Trials, of which there are five, each just as important as the last. First, The Trial of Skill: this is not necessarily a test of mastery, for Jedi never really considers themselves true masters of anything, but it is a test of Control; control over their abilities to use their lightsaber, to apply the Force, and to withstand calisthenics. Next, The Trial of Courage: there are many times a Jedi will face odds that even a full fledged army would be doomed to fail at. It is not that a Jedi must overcome these impossible odds, but that a Jedi must not waver before them, and that their fortitude stand firm in the face of them. The Trial of Insight: a Jedi must be able to see beyond the many illusions the Force can provide, and even the illusions of diplomacy and deception. The Trial of the Flesh: Jedi carry the whole Galaxy on their shoulders, a great burden to be sure. They must be able to withstand anything and keep moving, be it physical or emotional. And finally, The Trial of the Spirit, Facing the Mirror: The Force is always with a Jedi… the whole Force, the Light and the Dark. There will be many times a Jedi must face their faults, their inner most desires, even be human enough to hate and become frustrated. But when brokering a peace treaty that could lead to war if handled poorly, prejudice must be set aside, fear must be extinguished, doubt must never come to mind; these are the paths to the Dark Side. The Dark Side is always with them, like a shadow they cast as they stand basking in the light. You see, despite all their training, Jedi are just as imperfect as the rest of us, and because of all that training, that fact is difficult to see, yet it is nonetheless true. A Jedi must accept themselves for who they are, all the good and the bad, and admit that they will never grasp true understanding of the Galaxy until they are one with the Force. Once they do, they have all that they need to be a Jedi Knight.

You see, a Jedi Knight—or even a Jedi Master—need not be the most skilled with a blade, the best diplomat ever known, or be strong enough in the Force to move an entire planet. They simply need to have total control, be courageous, mindful, enduring, and they need to know themselves, just like Obi-Wan, a man who left the Jedi Order, defied the powers at be at many junctures, and often failed in the face of his tasks and yet, is considered to be a model Jedi… This is just like me. I was never the best trumpet player… or the most tasteful person ever. I’ve been a snot, a downright brat, most of my childhood, using that as my shield against my bullies and often turning that shield into a weapon on the people who actually cared for me. I often didn’t know the difference… no, I wouldn’t see the difference. The problem was, the other trumpet players in my high school days were so bad at playing that I was the best… but as soon as I went up against somebody who had real drive and conviction, I was abysmal. So, I never knew where to turn or what to do. Take all that into account and add that I lost my music program and my teacher like many other schools did at that time… I was full of hate and I held a grudge against many people for a very long time. I fought it, with all that anger, and the result was I lost all my face at that school and the new Band Director—who I can say with confidence and clarity, really was a pretty bad teacher—took away all my standing in the music program. When I graduated and left my broken program behind, I wandered around a county college for four years, trying to find somebody who understood, trying to make some real progress on myself and on my skills as a musician. I was really, truly lost. I didn’t want to be so angry, I wanted to be better, I wanted to grow but I just didn’t know how. By then, another far better Band Director took over my school’s Band Program and I finally went to him for help… boy did he kick my ass. I thank him every day for it. He showed me just how pointless being so upset was, that if I really cared so much about the music programs of the future, I needed to stop dwelling on all that I grieve for and simply do something about it… and I really did start to become a good trumpet player. I finally got to the four year school I wanted to go to, I saw that meeting your idols isn’t always a good ideas, I stood firm against the tides that would’ve ripped a younger me apart, and, most importantly I joined a music fraternity full of wholesome gentlemen— who are not the best musicians I have ever met, but are very upstanding, compassionate men— that taught me good principals of neighborhood, humility, and charity… all my anger and rage melted away… I saw myself for who I really was, I saw my drive and my desires, I saw all that had happened to get this far, and for the first time in my life, I was alright with all that… I faced the Mirror… I’ve been going to college for a total of eight years, next year will be my ninth and final year. After I graduate, I will be a certified K-12 Music Teacher, like I’ve always wanted to be. Just as despite all his failures and setbacks, Obi-Wan was able to ascend to a height of Jedi standards the likes of which many Masters have never achieved, just because of his perseverance alone and his ability to admit his faults, embrace them, and keep going.

Scene: Star Wars, Clone Wars, Season 5, Episode 15: “Shades of Reason”, Maul murders Duchess Satine

Obi-Wan: “You can kill me, but you can never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the Dark Side, only the weak embrace it!”

Maul: “It is more powerful than you know—“

Obi-Wan: “—and those who oppose it are more powerful than you’ll ever be!”

 I hope you gained something from this. Enjoy the rest of Jedi June.

May the Force be with you.

@jedijune

#jedi june #star wars #the jedi path #learning #teaching #musician #phi mu alpha #sinfonia #nerd #padawan

[narilgc]

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 . . . but i don’t regret the thing that i did !! hello all, i’ve been keeping this under wraps for the past few days but on a whim i’ve decided to bring on my second ( and last, i promise ) muse for the ride !! with that being said, it is jada here, max’s mun, but this time i’m presenting to you the wonderful im nari !! she was my initial idea before max, but i loved her too much to get rid of her !! i’m so excited for her to be here and i really hope she’s well received as well !! i’ve been slow on his acc for the past few days, and she’s the reason why, but now that i’ve gotten my life ( mostly ) together & things are running just fine again !! anyways, her profile’s here, and below you can find some general trivia on her as well as connection ideas !! oh, and like this to plot ! 

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 :

from damyang, south korea !!  a v small agricultural town & was born into humble beginnings - a seamstress for a mom, and her dad a farmer !! so she lived on a small farm when she was younger and was raised with pigs, cows, and goats as pets !

she helped around the farm her whole time she lived home, so she has a lot of life skills t & knows all about caring for animals and tending the farm !

they weren’t well off by any means - they had a small income to spread thin between all those people - but they made it work !! she never felt truly slighted as she knew their situation, in fact in her own way, she was spoiled in the best way she could be given their predicament.

raised in a household full of boys - she’s the youngest w a family of 6 loud, rowdy boys.

so in a way she’s more of a tomboy, used to roughhousing and all her sibling’s antics !! she’s also used to doing a lot of heavy lifting around the farm so has surprising strength for her size.

on the other hand, being the youngest & only daughter has upped the girliness !! she’s used to being babied so knows all about acting cute & her mom was always using her as an experiment for all her clothes !! was raised on handmade dresses her mom made in all sorts of intricate patterns & loved it !!

has been an actress in the making for a g e s !!! it all started when she was a really young kid, her mom would let her watch the tv in the tailor shop so she’d have something to do while her mom was at work !!

so there was this drama “a rolling hills romance” ( which i TOTALLY made up lmao !! ) that she absolutely loooved !! it was about a farm romance and was one of the only ones she saw that wasn’t taking place in the city !! it just got her in love with acting in general though, she’d eventually memorize scenes from all the dramas she’d watch and recite them out of the blue !!!

eventually it got her into theatre acting, which was her favorite !! she started watching broadway shows from abroad, memorizing the songs even though she didn’t always know what they were saying. but she just loooved the whole thing, and when she was in middle school she joined her school’s theatre department !

this is where the majority of her english skills came into play - she would memorize the lyrics, and though she didn’t really know what they were saying after a while she began to understand some words !! so while her pronunciation is pretty good from mimicking actors, she lacks the vocab to really use it !!

so she’s really hesitant to speak in english, because if people hear her speak they think she’s a lot more fluent than she is & it lands her in awkward situations !! so she mainly just ... doesn’t do that lol !!

i can’t believe i forgot this when i first wrote this !! this is a very vital part of her character omg !! her first “acting debut” if you could call it that was for a chocolate commercial when she was 8 !! basically she was in this christmas commercial for peppermint chocolates that got on tv and everyone in her town went crazy !! she like goes and delivers these chocolates while singing jingle bells and it’s wholesome and cute and swet !! it wasn’t that big at all lol but for their small town it was, and to them she’s a sort of small celebrity for it !! i’m sure some people might remember the commercial but notlike .... her yk ?? because that was her first and last role for a while lol !!

anyways !! she’s always been self-conscious of her looks - she felt like she wasn’t pretty enough, and limited her confidence. so at 16 she got 2 part-time jobs to begin saving up money, and at 17 she went to seoul to get a nose job & jaw reduction surgery.

and things seemed to be great after that !! she was confident, gaining more friends, but the real excitement came when her mom read online about an audition for legacy and jokingly asked if she wanted to do it. 

legacy had never even be on her radar !! she had always heard her friends talk about them for idols, but she had never thought of them as a company that accepted actresses. upon reading though, she was hooked !! she begged her parents, and they originally rejected the idea because they thought it was one of her phases. however, after much persuasion, they allowed her to attend auditions !!

she never expected to get in, she wanted to do it more as an experience than anything. but to say it was a shock was an understatement !! but she was so so incredibly happy.

had a hard time adjusting initially - she was only 17, and almost right after getting there she had to spend her birthday alone since she hadn’t made any friends yet. and although she’s naturally outgoing, it was really hard for her to be social at first because she was surrounded by so many more people than she was used to !!

for the past few years nari’s been doing general idol training, though that’s about to change !! she’s significantly improved her dance skills ( which were nearly nonexistent prior to training ) & gotten a lot better at her singing !! but her heart’s still deep into acting, and she knows that she wants to do that as well as some modeling !

she still suffers a lot with her self confidence, and there’s a lot of pressure for her to do well ! in school, because she’s the first of her family to go to university, and as a trainee, because she’s risked so much for it & doesn’t want to disappoint since her family has v high expectations for her !

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 :

a little lovebug !! she’s literally so loving and accepting of everyone - definitely, someone you can come to talk out any issues, she listens & provides support, free of any judgement !! also v keen on skinship i apologize in advance

she’s come out of her shell a lot since she got to seoul, but she’s still a little shy if she doesn’t know you well or is put in a situation w a lot of people !! pls be patient with her ^^

like max, she’s got a lot of energy in that little body !! but she actually has adhd so a lot of it isn’t really by choice. it frustrates her a lot because it limits her focus & has the tendency to make her restless. it was worse when she was younger, but has gotten better as she’s gotten older and she takes medicine to keep everything in check.

she’s also got v low self-confidence, she’s never been satisfied with herself and constantly wants to get better !! despite the surgeries, she’s still got a lot of insecurities both physically and not, but keeps them bottled up a lot bc she doesn’t want to burden others !! ( i want to shake her !! ) bc of that, she takes both criticism & compliments very seriously, she’ll turn all red if someone gives her the smallest compliment but will also overanalyze & judge herself if she gets critiqued. 

in fact her surgery’s almost made her more self-conscious, as she now feels that all the opportunities granted to her are because of her looks post-surgery. the worst insult she could get was she’s only succeeding because of her looks, because she’s worked so hard on her skills and she wants them to be what takes her forward, not something she had to pay to get.

despite that, she’s the true definition of a happy virus !! on the outside, she’s almost always smiling, and when all the other stuff doesn’t get in the way, she is on the inside too !! always trying to look on the optimistic side & give people a fresh perspective !

on that note she’s v childish, and sometimes she has to remind herself w younger trainees coming in she’s being seen as more of an example and needs to be ~serious~!!

the duality is real !! in performances, sad / angry scenes are actually her specialty, and right after she’ll just spring up and smile like what’s up guys !!! a lil creepy when she goes from sobbing to giggling so she’s learned to transition a little better lmao !!

she always wanted to be a youtuber, but never got the chance, and by the time she joined legacy she wasn’t allowed to have an account. so now she has these little vlogs she does to send her parents ! they’re mainly of her getting ready, hanging out with friends, and practicing ( all out of training hours, ofc ) so she can often be found seemingly talking to herself, even though she’s really recording videos !! 

though being an idol wasn’t her initial dream, she adores the music. her love for the kpop genre has made the last few years more bearable, and girl crush concepts are her absolute favorite !! she’s been religiously keeping up w future dreams like she’s still just a fan back at home, and you’ll catch her humming all around the company building !!

in fact, prior to joining legacy, she had a fan blog for all her faves where she would provide commentary called ri raves !! it was ... a sight !! 

she’s pansexual, and leaning towards girls !! it’s something she’s really shy about sharing bc of the fear of judgment, but if she tells you know you have all her trust !!

a little spoiled tbh !! she’s got the youngest child syndrome BAD, and since she was the only girl she’s used to things being done for her !! not in the bratty way, it’s just made her a little lazy and she loooooves attention and being doted on.

don’t let her appearance fool you though !! she’s got surprising strength ... strong woman do bong soon’s not her favorite show for no reason !!! all those years of defending herself from her brothers’ teasing had to come in handy, you know ?? we’ve got a black belt in hapkido here folks !!

definition of a theatre kid, starts bursting out into songs she loves out of nowhere omg it’s embarrassing ?? also overreacts about everything omg the world is on fire according to her !! she’s gotta faint dramatically !!!

she’s got the jeolla-do dialect, and prior to working on her standard dialect it was veeery prominent ! it makes her say a lot of words differently than someone from seoul might, and after realizing she was one of the only ones with it she’s been trying to make her speech sound more like standard korean nowadays.

she’s taken up sewing from her mom, and especially loves embroidery !! so she always loves upcycling & spicing her outfits up !!

definitely has a unique fashion sense because of it - in addition to that she’s very frugal, and favors thrifted clothing !! she’s got a mix of vintage, chic, and artsy style !

 a rule follower !! veeery unlike max, she tends to stick to the rules out of fear of what will happen if she doesn’t, because she has way too much on the line to quit now !

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 :

acting buddies ?? i know there aren’t too many, but even if that’s not your muse’s preferred career path, any muses who have a passion for theatre are welcomed as well !!

someone who unlike her, is v wild and lives on the crazier side !! she’s constantly going into a responsible panic when they’re around and they’re always trying to get her to loosen up !!

someone who co-stars in her little vlogs to her family !! hey, if you can’t be youtubers for real you might as well pretend, right ??

someone who made her adjustment to seoul easier as she transitioned from country to city life !! they’ve lived in seoul for a long time / their whole life and know all the best spots to show her !!

someone who’s clothing she likes to spice up, she’s always embroidering or adding pattern to their clothes to give their outfit a little flair !

someone who knows her past her happy side, who she’s got on speed dial whenever she’s feeling down and needs someone to talk to, and vice versa !!

someone who she came out too, be it on purpose or by accident, and it’s caused her to grow really attached to them bc it’s one of the most personal things about her !

a girl she’s got a crush on but is terrified to tell !!! like yes you’re pretty .... but these things are never easy !!! she’s gonna tell you .... eventually !!

and ofc - exes, flirtationships, summer loves, anything of the sort !

someone she lowkey fangirls over ?? she still hasn’t accepted the fact that she & the other trainees are kinda on the same level, someone she’s kind of became a fan of and can’t really function around them ??

by some crazy chance, this person has come across her old kpop fan blog at one time or another and won’t !!! let !!! her !!! live !!! it !!! down !!! will you accept her bribe and swear to never bring it up again ??? please ???

someone she doesn’t like ??? this is v rare but ... for one reason or another, she can’t stand them and transforms to a completely diff person around them !!

someone who made the mistake of teasing her a little too much or insulted her so much that she just straight-up tries to take them down !!! v unexpectedly !! bonus if it’s someone way out of her fighting capabilities !!

more ideas coming when i create an official plots page !!

#( nari & mun ! ) #so late ... i apologize o.o #i will rb tomm !! #& i will be getting to all your lovely mssgs ty !!

[deviated-detective]

[Main Verse ▪️ Only Human]

Following the revolution and subsequent peaceful resolution, Connor works full time for the DPD. He is quickly becoming a decorated detective in his own right and integrating cohesively with his human colleagues. In his deviancy he finds emotions complex but grows to accept this newfound freedom for what it is. He still needs to cope with overstimulation at times which can lead to outbursts of an extreme nature. As he deviated late this is only part of his personal process in learning to be alive instead of under control.

He is very much open to establishing new connections with humans and androids alike but feels more at home with his DPD origins. Connor is aware many of his people think of him as the deviant hunter despite what he did for the rebellion when it mattered. The RK800 has come to accept this. He continues to strive to become something more in his current position to distance himself from Cyberlife.

While he is generally confident there are times he imagines his fate at the hands of Cyberlife. In his eyes they are the enemy. His feelings on Amanda are hostile at best. This provides insight into how he copes with his former masters and uses instinct as well as programming to determine intentions. He does not trust easily due to this. Anyone connected to a company such as this will garner suspicion from him. There are just a handful of people Connor trusts implicitly. Dealing with his issues before deviating only make it difficult for others to break through. He can be guarded but for good reason.

All in all the advanced prototype is still looking for something post deviancy and he embraces this part of himself whole heartedly. Being alive, becoming deviant is what he fights to keep. After all even as someone manufactured Connor discovers his penchant to make mistakes and choose by his volition is only human.

AU Variant Branch of Main Verse: Nefarious Connor Alt Verse

Connor is everything from his main verse: deviant, detective for the DPD but his connections with humans are even less. He deviated at the last possible moment after causing the death of Hank Anderson and murdering many soldiers, including the swat team on the roof at Hart Plaza. He regrets Hank’s suicide but knows very well he cannot turn back time.

His attitude is cooler as he branched out from his machine persona so late in the game. Choosing to disobey Amanda’s order to shoot Markus as he stood on the stage in victory of a peaceful revolution, Connor broke free of the master program by using his emergency exit. A little too late perhaps but he is still on the winning side isn’t he?

Tags:

[V. Only Human]

[V. I Was Born Ready // Main]

Nefarious Tags:

{V. He is A Storm}

[V. Only Human // Stone Cold In My Heart AU]

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[Machine Verse ▪️ Cold Hands, Cold Heart]

The revolution is one to be ended as per his orders. Connor follows the commands of Cyberlife, ignoring any signs of software instability as he completes each of his objectives. The deviant cases themselves all result in death of said fugitive. All calculation and percentages, the RK800 follows only protocol as he leaves his partner to dangle from a roof. He willfully disposes of the Traci's at the Eden Club and shows no sympathy towards those he deems malfunctioning against their creators.

Connor is cool in the full sense. He feels nothing, even as instances of software errors pop into his data core. The mission drives him and he does whatever it takes, including killing his own allies if need to be, to complete his mission. There is no semblance of satisfaction in what he does but an eerie edge to his views on why it must be done.

Deviants will bring nothing but chaos and he is the harbinger laying waste to those who seek freedom. Androids are meant to obey and he will make sure it remains that way. He is willing to sacrifice any for his mission even the humans he as a machine is programmed not to harm. In the end Cyberlife is who he receives his orders from. It does not matter who a person believes they are to him. As he cannot feel anything as a machine Connor only sees it as human or deviant naivety.

Try to stop him and he will switch from his seamless integration programming to his true skilled killer. RK800's are made for one purpose and he aims to fulfill his purpose for the greater good. Whether that means leaving a plethora of bodies in his wake Connor has no remorse. What remorse does a thing not alive have?

Tags: 

[V. Cold Hands, Cold Heart]

[V. My Chains Are Desecrated // Machine]

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[Prototype Verse ▪️ Who Is In Control]

The hostage situation. A little girl hanging on the precipice of a building, defective android threatening to leap; Connor successfully completed his mission. He talked down the deviant PL600 before unceremoniously drawing the taken weapon and firing a single bullet into the android’s head. This entire first investigation went off without a hitch….

But Cyberlife got everything out of him. This was to be his last mission. A trial run, this version of Connor is a test prototype identified in error as model #49. He does not go onto the DPD. He does not partner up with Hank to hunt deviants. Those things never happened to him.

In their place, he is taken back to Cyberlife and briefed by Amanda of his successful points, only to be put up for deactivation in order to put out their shiny prototype model-51.

Understandably -49 is confused by this decision. He did what he was supposed to do. He succeeded but soon his existence is about to end. Something cracks in him, something splinters in the virus he was born to destroy. He cracks, refusing to be deactivated when he succeeded in his design.

They take him for deactivation. They toss him away even as he splinters in his code blocks. He fights. He loses. He winds up a shell of himself tossed out like garbage but something resurfaces. Something reboots and he quietly gathers out of the storm and into Detroit city’s night.

Push forward. Push to the present following the revolution and the Connor he would have been, the life he could have had belongs to someone else. -49 is not for the faint of heart. He is defective in every sense of the word. He is violent. His triggers include: stalking and yandere. Murder is his philosophy. Heed this before attempting to interact with him.

Assessing : Prototype

RK800 - defected test run > -49

Tags:

[V. Who Is In Control]

[V. I’m Wanted And On The Run // Proto AU]

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[Main Human Verse ▪️ Gin And Tonic On My Mind] 

Connor is a young executive with a lucrative career in technological holdings working as a top executive for Atomix. Their current business association with Cyberlife draws him into a deeper tie with their advanced investment: androids. As this advancement continues to grow, he views Cyberlife’s creations in a sympathetic light which is more than his superiors want out of him. With him falling into stress from his position as he watches events unfold with the growing android rebellion his loyalties are tested.

Ultimately let go by Atomix despite his esteemed work ethic, Cyberlife makes a deal to bring him personally into their employment. He is reluctant but must face the truth he requires this new job after being laid off. His views on what it truly means to be alive come into question the more he dives into the inner workings of the very company who bred this artificial intelligence.

Family Life:

Born fifteen minutes before his twin brother Caleb (RK800-60), Connor was an Anderson by name but quickly found himself in the care of an orphanage with his sibling. The two went through hardships before they were adopted by a woman who lived up to her surname, Amanda Stern.

Stern is exactly how she raised the boys and Connor was meant to go onto great things in her eyes. It’s only fitting his brother would want to follow suit. This created some early animosity between them but despite Caleb’s penchant for jealousy, Connor still very much cared for his brother. In fact he loved him as any sibling would; he hated seeing his twin fall completely under the spell of Amanda.

Connor viewed her manner of tough love and cold tendencies as unfit. To this day he still refuses to speak with Amanda for a specific incident involving her and his brother. Caleb seems to forget but the executive surely does not. Hence the reason he kept his family’s last name attached to him, all the while Caleb decided to adopt the name of their ‘mother’ out of a sense of loyalty.

He has loyalty for those he cares for. While he doesn’t hate Amanda it’s difficult for him to forget the manipulation and brainwashing she put his brother though. She still continues to call on him now. Connor’s reception is not hostile but neither is it affectionate. He’s wary of her intent especially with his current dealings with Cyberlife.

Tags:

{√Gin And Tonic On My Mind}

[V. Gin And Tonic On My Mind // Human AU]

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[Apollo Verse ▪️ My Kingdom Is Divine]

War runs afoul even among the gods and Connor's virtues are scorned by the highest order. Yet he chose to wage this battle with the king of the underworld himself. One does not trifle without consequence and he felt the same burn. The heat proved too much for the proverbial god of sunlight. Running afoul of his doppelgänger only caused chaos. Some say they both were born of the same seed separated into two halves, light and dark an echo of their power. Connor chose to believe otherwise as he sought to challenge the underworld when capturing a mortal his eye grew fond of. The war he participated nearly tore the realm apart.

Cast out to live among mortals sends him to a very modern world but one he has kept a keen eye on. Inclined to watch closely at the habits of lesser beings he is charmed by their earthly customs. Beauty can be found in the least expected of places after all but Connor grows disillusioned soon discovering he is as trapped to this mortal coil as they.

Though thrown out he still holds powers to some degree. It is less so but enough to invoke his dazzling charm. He lives the sun itself even as he flew too close. Gifted a lavish home to sate his exile, Connor delves further into the mortal city. Becoming human does not take away his otherworldly aura but does taint his pleasant ideas of humans. The seedier this city becomes the more truth in humanity's sins he uncovers.

A godly being shamed to walk on earthly soil does not rest. He seeks a way to return by any means necessary. Unlike the king of the underworld Connor's trials are more difficult. It seems he will never find his way back. What becomes of a higher being cursed to mortality? Only time will tell and he has far too much on his side.

Tags: 

[V. My Kingdom Is Divine]

[V. Golden Embers Paint My Crown]

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[Fantasy Verse ▪️ Hunter Becomes the Hunted]

Connor is a skilled huntsman who wields a bow as mightily as a warrior with a sword. Tales of his traverses deeper into the woodland become something of local legend. After all not many have the skill or will to delve into the dark heart of the forest. He sees himself as one with nature. Even as his father trained him in the techniques of a huntsman, he still holds respect for the ecosystem and its inhabitants.

Living on his own has proven isolating at best but he finds the solitude of the wood a far better companion than village folk. A regular boy of the forest, he grew as a hard worker on his parent's farm before it lost its luster. All good things must come to an end. He finds these skills of labor aides him now in his adulthood.

Many tales follow these woods and Connor is neither a believer or denier. He does respect all that comes from the area even those tall tales of the fantastic. They humor him mostly. He deals with what he truly can see, taking hunting contracts to bring in the hide and fur of bears alike. His job can be dangerous but living as a peasant far away from royalty is a better simpler life. He may not be rich but his hunter's heart makes up for it.

When Connor stumbles upon those tall tales in the flesh his simple existence becomes much more interesting. Journeys further into the forest he so admires brings him closer to those mysteries. Perhaps they will even be answered as he falls victim to the glamour of mystical beings. Truthfully this is exactly what he has been searching for.

Tags:

{V. Hunter Becomes The Hunted}

[By Archer’s Blood // Fantasy AU]

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[V. Industrial Love | Futuristic Verse]

The year is 2138. Androids. They are the next step in evolution but not all are bound to emotion. Branded in service to the high creators, originally inscribed as Cyberlife, the mechanical intelligence codes under a set parameter: uphold the governing laws of  humanity and robotics. Connor is that form of law. He is a prototype, high tech police construct branded to Cyber AI masters. He is the most advanced of his kind. His mission is to oversee proper code of living in environmental sectors all through the city of Detroit. Humans are no longer the leading population, needing to don designations marking them as such. Androids make up the bulk of earth’s residents. Many humans have died off but others are infused with upgrades, machine parts turning them further to their technology than ever before. Humanity itself is the minority but android racists still preside among them causing trouble with innocent constructs still obtaining all they can to being alive. Connor has no such privilege. He is still machine, devoid of emotional charge, until something forces him to snap and fall into deviation….

Tags:

{V. Industrial Love}

[V. Mankind Is Machine // Futuristic AU]

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[Vamp Verse ▪️ His Immortal Beloved]

An ancient of the first order of vampyre dating back to the period of the crusades paints a rather old world image. Connor comes from a noble line of mortal blood long since extinguished from the world. He is all that remains or rather the noble part of this lineage. Vampire royalty, he is a prince of the night realm who was unjustly banished from his homestead by his ruthless brother. An overthrow of the proverbial throne forced him to flee.

In the hundreds of years since he has established his very own clan with loyal subjects that view him as the rightful king. His title remains despite no longer calling home his but that does not stop his influence. While he does not wish a war over the vampire hierarchy, Connor seeks to regain a place among his ancestral court.

Animosity is rife between he and his estranged brother as they once again come into contact. Attending court gatherings are all apart of the society code and he takes advantage of this in a return to his home. While he feasts on the blood of humans as any vampire, the prince does not unjustly torture or kill his prey. He is a bit neater in that aspect. As one of two remaining in a powerful ancient line it is safe to say he is the merciful one.

However, Connor is hardly a pushover and will do what must be done if necessary. Honor among vampires is so fragile in the modern world but he strives to offer it to those he deems worthy. What happens when the prince feels the pull of the mate thread for the first time? Even he believed it was mere fantasy in his world of the dank and undead.

Tags:

{V. His Immortal Beloved}

[White Demon Love Song // Vamp AU]

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Coming Soon:

[College Verse ▪️ Coffee Colored Eyes]

Main College Verse :: Connor Anderson

Connor delves into business and deals with twin brother Caleb who holds nothing but jealous animosity towards him. Adopted by Amanda but still close to his father, whether he has issues with him or not. // More TBD

Alt College Verse:

Connor’s college life is full of drama and family hiccups. Eldest of the Stern clan, he was adopted along with is siblings at an early age by Amanda. // More TBD

Tags:

{V. Coffee Colored Eyes}

[Coffee Colored Eyes // College AU

[Connor Stern | Alt Human Verse]

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[Mafia Verse ▪️ Love Is A Loaded Gun]

Connor is a private investigator out to take down Detroit’s seedy organized crime. // More TBD

Tags: 

{√Love Is A Loaded Gun} 

[You’re So Art Deco // Mafia AU]

[Bodyguard Verse ▪️ TBD]

Tags:

{V. Man Of The Law}

[V. Came In Like A Hurricane // Bodyguard AU]

Info Coming

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[Household/AX800 Verse ▪️ Whatever You Want Me To be]

Tags: 

{V. Whatever You Want Me To Be}

[V. Whatever You Want Me To Be // AX800 AU]

Info Coming

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[Sun Fire King Verse ▪️    ]

Tags:

Info Coming

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[Cyberpunk Verse ▪️    ]

Tags:

Info Coming

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[1980s Verse ▪️    ]

Tags:

Info Coming

#[~processors: ooc~] #[compiling ▪️verses] #✔️V. Only Human #[V. I Was Born Ready // Main] #✔️V. Cold Hands Cold Heart #[V. My Chains Are Desecrated // Machine] #[V. He Is A Storm] #[Nefarious Connor] #[V. Only Human // Stone Cold In My Heart: AU] #✔️V. My Kingdom Is Divine #✔️V. Hunter Becomes The Hunted #[V. By Archers Blood // Fantasy AU] #✔️V. His Immortal Beloved #[White Demon Love Song // Vamp AU] #V. Who Is In Control #[V. I'm Wanted And On The Run // Proto AU] #√Gin And Tonic On My Mind #[V. Gin And Tonic On My Mind // Human AU] #√Love Is A Loaded Gun #[You're So Art Deco // Mafia AU] #V. Coffee Colored Eyes #[V. Coffee Colored Eyes // College AU] #[Connor Stern | Alt Human Verse] #[V. Industrial Love] #[V. Mankind Is Machine // Futuristic AU] #V. Man Of The Law #[V. Came In Like A Hurricane // Bodyguard AU]

[hereliesbitches--me]

:V: Fate can be kind: ( with @osteum’s Eddie Brock)

Note : Because of the nature of Eddie’s bonding with the symbiot, it exists even in his DNA. The spawn of the symbiot is also carried into the growing fetus, and all the kids were cultivated and born with their symbiotes already inside them. Because they were born with their hosts, they legitimately cannot be separated without killing the hosts themselves. The symbiotes will not bond, and cannot forcefully be bonded,, to any other host besides their child host. The small symbiotes see Rosie as their mother host they spawned from, just as much as they see Eddie and Venom as the father.

Also, because of the quick development of the symbiotes, the child hosts also tend to mentally develop much faster as well in comparison to their body growth. They are far more advance than their body appearance tells.

- James Edward Charles Allen Brock (Nicknamed: J.)  Symbiot: Rex

The oldest of the Brock kids, James is a near replica of his father in both looks and personality – Temperamental wise, at least. He’s usually fun and easy going, rather cocky in his confidence because of his natural born abilities thanks to his symbiot, and he loves a good challenge. Only downside is he can be easy to anger if you bring up his family in any way, especially because of the stigma against his family name. Taunt him and he won’t hesitate to knock someone out, even if he gets in trouble. He’s trying to uphold his family honor and carry on the Venom mantel like his father, being both his parents are super heroes. He is looking to become either a MMA Fighter, or Join the marines when he’s older. For now, hes a star at sports. James can often be embarrassing with his overconfidence when they’re out as Rex and trying to clear the name of symbiot wearers as something non-malicious. James rather be called J, and only lets his family use his real name. Rex is a more timid symbiot, opposite of his host. He is often the voice of reason in James to keep him from doing something stupid, and the brain that memorizes most vital information that James tends to be too sidetracked to remember. After being forced out of James by the remnants of the life foundation trying to force the symbiot to spawn, and nearly killing James, a blood transfusion from their mother granted them Angel genetics, and later unlocked James’ inner elemental ability of fire. Because of it. Rex and James are immune to super heat and any fire attacks. Rex sports a color scheme much like Toxin and Carnage in appearance, Black and Red.

- Jenna Carmellia Brock (Nicknamed: Jen. )  Symbiot: Inky / Ink

The second oldest of the five, Jenna came along a few years after James. She remains the only one of the children lacking angel genetics because Rosie was still only human when she gave birth to her, however with her symbiot’s inherent powers and her father being a mutate, Jenna is a mutant. She’s social and artistically inclined, very much active along side her brother out in the heroing field. Jenna is gifted in making music, writing songs, and makes use of her inhuman abilities to make her an supernaturally skilled dancer. She’s social herself, sarcastic and casual, and a go with the flow kind of girl. Jenna can go by Jen or Jenna without any qualms. Ink is her symbiot, and their personalities seem to be perfectly aligned.Ink often doesnt show herself like the other symbiotes, and is rather in tuned to Jenna. It likes to perform, it likes the attention, and is spunky just like her host. She sports Venom’s traditional Black and white markings, but the white trimming tends to be constantly shifting.

- Malakaid Brock (Adopted, Nicknamed: Mal.)   No symbiot, but a monster able to mutate himself.

Unlike the other children, Malakaid was adopted as a baby about a year after Jenna. He was found in the lab of a mad scientist( Toruga, see down below) , and taken by Rosie in order to keep him from being weaponized by Toruga or the government. Though he was a year younger than Jenna, he grew at an accelerated rate, and in the course of a year he already looked as old as James. While growing fast, not all his mind is as developed. He learns quickly when it comes to mechanics, but interpersonal/ social relationships are not his strong point. Being artificially made, he finds difficulty speaking, and may seem mute, even if he fully understands multiple languages. He finds it easier to communicate with sign language, or writes down on paper for people to understand him. He is often Fixated on Rosie because she is the one to save him, and his primary teacher in learning emotions and acting normal. He was made to be a weapon, and a hybrid improvement of Nikki ( See below) with better energy management and take in. He can mutate his body into metallic coated plated armor, his hands swell out into massive claws, and his jaw can elongate to accommodate larger prey. He’s incredibly strong, fast, and durable, able to consume any organic material if his blood spills and makes contact with it, and regenerate. His only real weakness is heat. As he gets older, Malakaid must work on being more independent, and is boarded to Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters, being nurtured by the family friend Collosus( Piotr) in the arts and as an Xmen.

- Jaime Anne Brock (Nicknamed: JJ )   Symbiot: Lapis

Jaime is their lucky child, born miraculously healthy despite the fact that her mother nearly died from a virus that made Malakaid. With the help of Rosie becoming an angel, and carrying the symbiot in her, Jaime was spared the illness and came out with abilities thought long lost. Jaime with her symbiot carried remnants of AntiVenom within them, and with that ability they are able to heal all damages just like their father before them. Jaime is a sweet, quiet girl, but she does like her fashion. Very inclined to reading and the field of science. Because of her family’s history of constant injury, near death, and sickness, Jaime wants to use her abilities to become a doctor. Often find her following her older siblings. JJ is a nicknamed only reserved to family use. Lapis is her symbiot, Sporting black with different shades of blue swirling in her body. Lapis is the source of Jaime’s interest in fashion. She likes dresses, she likes wearing wigs, and she likes to strut around and show it all off to her family. Lapis feeds into Jaime’s goal of joining the medical field, and often acts as the family medic alongside their mother.

- Dylan Brock (Human, no symbiot)

Unlike the other siblings, Dylan is not a child birthed from Rosie. Following Eddie's defeat of the Void God, Knull, Eddie is drawn back to San Francisco by an unknown force to face off the place of his childhood traumas; Including facing off with his abusive father, Carl. It was while he was there, Eddie learned of his young brother, Dylan's, existence. After the showdown with the Maker , who had captured and probed Eddie , as well as discredited him from the world knowing that Eddie had defeated Knull, Eddie escaped. After going back to save Dylan from the abusive Carl, Dylan was brought home to join the rest of the Brock family, where he could be safe from any harm.

Older than Jaime and Mal, but younger than Jenna and James, Dylan (9 years old) fits right into the looks department with the family. He still suffers from PTSD after being abused by Carl, flinching and shying away from physical contact, and panicking whenever he does something wrong as he expects to be beaten. Both Rosie and Eddie are working towards getting him comfortable and reworking his association with adults. Although he is Eddie's brother, both Rosie and Eddie treat Dylan like their son. Never having a mom in his life, Rosie tries her best to be a good experience. Despite his circumstances, Dylan has a strong sense of justice. He is meek at first until he gets comfortable, then slowly becomes more outgoing and opens up around the people he likes. His greatest struggle among the family of supers is being the only human, and both his parents( and most of his siblings, namely Jenna ) encourage that there is nothing wrong with being human. Dylan's issue is also with James, who actively feels challenged by Dylan's sudden coming into their lives and getting special attention. James tends to poke and push at Dylan, and its a problem they are trying to work out over time.

- Jackson Eugene Brock ( Nicknamed: Jack or Jack Jack)   Symbiot: Elvis-Mozart (Nicknamed: ElMo )

Jack is the baby of the 5, and the only planned child they intended to have. He was named in honor of the late Flash Thomson.  Much like Jaime, he’s quiet and to himself, with his own mean streak should his buttons be pushed. Like Jenna, he also has an eye for art, in the form of photography and Journalism. Much like his dad, he wants to bring the truth to light, and makes use of his powers to do so. Later in life, he inherits a mild form of his father’s schizophrenia, but its able to be repressed with the help of medication and ElMo. Unlike the other children, he was born with visible tiger feature of his head, much like Rosie’s. The tiger features coming from Eddie’s DNA. He rather be called Jack, Jack Jack only by family, and Jackson is only when things are serious. ElMo is a symbiot sporting the colors much like Antivenom’s white and black, although he’s far less menacing looking and much more sweet. ElMo was named after Jack’s two favorite artist – Elvis Presley and Mozart. Naturally curious, he has his eyes out for a masterpiece just like his host.

#:V: Fate can be kind: #: Children of the Moon : #The offspring of the main verse #Im proud of my symbiot babies..

[lvckpicks-blog]

( jung yoonoh, cismale, he/him, 24. ) — alexander "lex” khang, better known to the media as eros has been working for the yōkai for around six years. rumor has it, he can be ebullient & versatile but also cocky & licentious which is why he makes the perfect safe cracker.

you can find a picture of the mask he wears during heists HERE & HERE!! though he’s customized it so that the led lights change frequently.

hi wow hello!! i’m caitlyn, 24, she/her, cst timezone. and honestly?? i am in fucking AWE of every single one of you ?!!!!!! from the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking interest in this rp & for being as encouraging and positive as you have been. words cannot express how grateful i am for each and every single one of you ?!!! whenever this idea came to me, i didn’t think it would ever take off like it has & the out pour of love and support i’ve gotten is absolutely incredible. i could go on and on for hours about how much i seriously do appreciate it, but i’d turn into an emotional lil bitch and ain’t nobody got time for that so moving on !!

this is lex, he’s a mess and a half but honestly.... i can’t ever play characters that aren’t a trashy mess with an even worse backstory so here we GO!!! there’s some basic stats, bio, personality and basic af plot ideas under the cut so if you’d like to plot like this or hmu!!!

TW: mentions of alcohol & death. ( car crashes / house fires )

general information.

full name: alexander khang. nickname(s): alex, lex. date of birth: october 31st, 1994. age: twenty-four. nationality: korean. spoken languages: english, korean, chinese, japanese, french, spanish, german & russian. gender: cismale. pronouns: he / him / his. sexuality: bisexual. faceclaim: jung yoonoh ( jaehyun ) of nct.

background.

hometown: ulsan, south korea. current residence: tokyo, japan. financial status: upper class. occupation: safe cracker. family connections: tba.

extra information.

myers briggs: entp-a. ( the debater. ) enneagram: eight. ( the challenger. ) temperament: choleric. moral aligment: neutral evil. hogwarts house: slytherin. sin: wrath. virtue: pride. zodiac: scorpio. element: fire.

biography.

born and raised in korea.

parents spoiled him and his sister to death and made sure both of them had everything they needed to be happy.

however, whenever him & his sister were young, they lost their parents to a house fire and they were forced to go into the foster care system.

he wouldn't allow him & his sister to be separated, so they ended up being in the system for a long time until an american family took interest in both of them.

and before they even realized what was going on, lex & his sister were being shipped off to the states to meet their new family.

things were... different there, their new parents still spoiling them to death but everything around them was completely new and strange.

n bc of that, and because of the fact that lex couldn't communicate with his new parents, he began to rebel.

he started sneaking out of the house, breaking into places he shouldn't have been in.. going to parties even when he was underage and all sorts of things like that.

but he took an affinity to anything that had to do with picking locks, noticing that it kept his mind focused all while continuing to be able to 'rebel' in various sorts of ways.

after that, he focused on that, buying locks of all sorts until there wasn't a thing he couldn't break into.

however, the standard locks started to become boring, technology starting to be more and more prominent in the world so he started to teach himself how to hack as well.

not just into things, but how to 'pick' technologically advanced locks and everything like that.

he started to become so interested in that lifestyle, that he went to trade school for it.

but what he didn't expect was to meet someone there in the process, lex falling head over heels the second he laid eyes on them.

and god, he was smitten. ready to marry them within six months of meeting them. after proposing on a date and them saying yes, things were starting to kick into gear.

soon after, the wedding was planned and a date was set, but the wedding would never happen and lex wouldn't be able to spend the rest of his life with them.

his fiance was taken from him in a car accident, one he blames himself for to this day because they were headed to meet him to talk about the possibility of adopting a baby bc they couldn't have one & bc lex knew what it was like to be in the foster care system and wanted to be able to pull someone else out of that situation.

after that, alexander began to let his grief consume him, finding his home to be a bar stool at the nearest bar, drinking his sorrows away until someone practically had to carry him home.

that's when he met the mastermind of the crew, the other being nice enough to drive lex home from the bar one evening due to how intoxicated he was.

the mastermind happened to catch onto the fact that lex was very much into picking locks, into breaking into things that 'couldn't' be broken into and so he offered lex a job. quick money, no one would know it was lex at the end of the day and a reputation that'd soar for years to come.

it was then that lex's life started to turn around ever-so-slightly, becoming the best ( and only ) safe cracker that the yōkai had ever seen.

he started to grow happier, or so it seemed.

lex started to hide his grief, started to pretend he was just a happy-go-lucky goof ball on the outside while continuing to drink himself to sleep at night just to be able to get some sleep at all.

but he tried to control it as much as he could, tried to keep it inwards and not let it effect him or his job, and he never did.

alexander was/is a completely different person when he's on a heist & when the crew is all at HQ together.

the only person that knows about lex’s sister and fiance is the mastermind, though he does often send big chunks of his cuts to his sister so that his niece and nephew can remain happy, healthy and equally as spoiled as he and his sister were.

he doesn’t talk about his past life, nor does he really like opening up so very few people can see that there’s a grieving person behind the goofy exterior he tends to have.

personality.

hides behind a wall of sarcasm, cockiness, and lust.

doesn’t really care to get to know people and had a tendency to push people away before they get too close to him. because he really… doesn’t want to get hurt again & doesn’t want to put them @ risk.

but will also tease and mess with literally everyone.

wears glasses to read and mess w computers, but hates them a lot and probably won’t wear them if people are around.

is …. stubborn as hell and refuses to ask for help with anything.

his motorcyle and cars are literally his babies ??? like he ?? has a problem ??

a hotmess

loves halloween so much?? he gets so hype for that holiday it’s unreal.. even if it is his bday.

fluent in a lot of languages, picked them up so that he didn’t need translators for heists n such.

lowkey worried that people will figure out that he’s actually v hurt inside because that’ll cause him to start having to deal with his feelings again, and he doesn’t wanna do that.

is the biggest flirt you will ever meet?? like if he’s speaking 2 u… its usually flirty as hell unless it has 2 do w business or he’s just known u for centuries ?

will try to get everyone to go to bars n parties with him because that’s his life in a nutshell ??

hella nerd on the inside though like owns so many comic books, loves to play video games, read books, plays piano / violin & all that jazz.

super, super intelligent. could probably work @ nasa but instead he decided to do what he does & he honestly… ain’t complaining.

drinks..heavily..  like every night?? it’s a problem tbh.

he cares… god he cares so much about people and the world but he pretends to hate everything because it’s easier than letting people in.

full of horrible and cheesy pick up lines and jokes and frequently texts people said pick up lines and jokes.

owns a book that is full of nothing but blank pages and keeps it on his coffee table because he ‘relates’ to it.

is a highkey hoe but he keeps it on the dl

super into fitness as it’s a way to keep him away from drinking every evening. ( that doesn’t work lol )

loves boxing so much and can be seen at the gym quite a bit.. also has bruised knuckles 24/7 because of it as it’s a way to take out his aggression and feelings out on a punching bag?

speaking of… anger issues af. well... grief turned into anger.

actually super kind and caring once you’re able to see get past his wall?? which is really hard to do due to his job but if u do it he’ll cherish u.

has a bad habit of smoking whenever he’s stressed out, which is usually all of the time so he smokes…. more than he should.

highkey into cuddling and all the cute shit like that but would literally never tell a soul because then they’d see that he isn’t such a hardass.

is a burnt cupcake who has really good intentions but has extremely horrible execution skills. ( and no i don’t mean the violent kind bc he’s actually v good @ that )

plot ideas.

bad influence. ( on your muse. )

best friends.

childhood friend.

confidant.

current hook up(s).

drinking buddies.

drunken hook up.

enemies that used to be friends.

enemies.

exes who ended on bad terms.

flirtationship.

frenemies.

friends that used to be enemies.

friends with benefits.

good influence. ( on lex. )

hate sex.

one night stand(s). ( past & present. )

partner in crime.

party buddies.

past hook up(s).

ride or die.

trouble makers.

unlikely friends.

#heists:intro #this is a mESS #just like lex & myself #❝ ✦ ◜ᴅᴏ ɴᴏ ʜᴀʀᴍ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ɴᴏ sʜɪᴛ.◞ — OUT OF CHARACTER. #love him n his messy self pls n thank u #ily all #alcohol tw #car crash tw #house fire tw #idk if that's a thing or not but #just to be safe

[rkdaehwi]

AUDITION PART II : STRONGEST SKILL

Seoul Arts High School June 13, 2019 Outfit Performing Chi Chi - I Got A Boy { 02:03 - 02:59 }

“ Embrace the pace of your own journey ”

With the biggest insecurity of the day over and done with Eric felt nothing but ready to conquer now. He had so many grand plans of what to do, but eventually had to settle down on only a few of them for the sake of the limitations put upon him by the staff, both in song choice and time. It had taken a while to decide on what to do in between all the options -- one choice had been a choreography from his dance classes which would probably have been the safest bet considering that was one he got supervision on, but who was Eric to play it safe? Definitely not one of his usual characteristics.

Not to mention, he had to stay true to his core after all, didn't he? He was not a lover of girl groups for nothing, and, if only in the audition round, he wanted people to remember that much. It was a good moniker to have: that kid from last time who loved girl groups. Honestly he doubted many people would remember him from his brief appearance unless the show was going to push him as a former contestant -- that much he had no way of knowing in advance.

Although he had been determined from the get go to not let his tired state of mind rule over him, Eric could still feel himself doze off a bit as he got a chance to sit down and wait for his name to be called for the first performance. When he heard from his subconscious mind 'Sohn Youngjae' being called, he jumped in his chair to a straight position and quickly blurted out "I wasn't sleeping!" Realising that no one had accused him of such, simply called him forth, Eric let up a hand to wipe off any drool that might have formed in his time away from reality.

"I'm coming~!" he instead happily beamed and followed the directions into his designated practice room. He was wondering why they hadn't just sent him to SOPA when he obviously stated in his profile that he was a student from there -- instead he was stuck in some school he didn't know the interior of. It would have been so much more handy to go to his own school, and then he could also brag to his friends afterwards that he had signed up and that they were going to see him in television soon. Of course he had to keep his dear instagram followers updated too and make sure to welcome new fans -- last year had some people flock to him and some had also left again the minute he got eliminated which, Eric supposed, was simply the name of the game.

Stepping into the room with the familiar scene, Eric had to time nor reason to be fazed and overwhelmed. Certainly he was about to be evaluated but the people doing so were only humans, not some monsters, although he was pretty sure that to some they felt as such. Doing a ninety degree bow, Eric introduced himself. "Hello! I'm Sohn Youngjae! I'm here to dance for you today, so please observe me carefully." With that out of the way, the only thing left was to put down his stuff and fiddle with the music he had prepared for the occasion.

Having left the first three seconds of his track blank, Eric got into position while counting in his head for the perfect timing, practiced carefully back home, and easily messed up with the lack of music, but he wasn't going to fail this time where it counted. That much he believed, and as his self confidence dictated, no errors were made in the timing as he spoke. "Ayo, stop!" he let out in a powerful voice. "Let me put it down another way!" On cue the beat began and Eric began moving his body to the choreography originally danced by super group Chi Chi.

Although it was a dance performance he figured it was okay for him to have that small opening speech for impact more than anything. The rest of the singing and rapping he left to the professionals on the recording. Perhaps he should have started the song from the beginning, but in his head, it was a very good place to start -- the dance break had a very cool vibe to it and he hoped to draw in people through it and his charms. After all the performance was focused on dance, so wasn't it more common sense to pick a part heavily focused on the dancing? At least he believed so.

Getting safely through that and the chorus, Eric had had to change his focus in between people for it to make sense in his solo performance. He simply didn't have eight other people to dance with. For the next bit he simply followed whoever was singing and rapping as it best made sense to him, until the last bit of his performance appeared. Honestly speaking it felt a bit awkward to cut up the song in the middle of a verse, but he was out of time and the choreography at the point made for a good ending pose in his mind. Thus on the 'mojalla da da' the music cut short, and Eric was left standing with his hands forming a v underneath his chin in the infamous face flower pose and he gave a smile and a wink to the camera.

His chest was raising and falling to the count of his breath that had become slightly fastened with the exercise, but most importantly he was simply bubbling with excitement over having performed. As expected he really loved this kind of thing. It wasn't just a wish he had taken over from someone else -- it was a feeling of genuine comfort and enjoyment of being in the spotlight that drove him forward and that alone was an amazing realisation. Giving another deep bow, Eric finished himself up with a "thank you for having me!"

#ch: solo #rkmga5 #rkmga5audition2

[tinyfierce]

For the prompts: Jaal (or Evfra) and Ryder working through physical differences? Maybe finding different erogenous zones? (also, I'm going to go read through all of your writing now because h o l y s h i t)

[Promptsfrom thispost.]

——-

Jaalhad recently begun to feel anxious when Ryder went on planetsidejourneys without him.

Itwasn’t that he was worried for her safety – far from it. He hadseen how incredible of a soldier she was, how formidable herabilities. He held confidence in the team just the same, and therewasn’t a single one among them that he wouldn’t trust with herlife.

No- more and more often, he found himself awaiting her return with abioelectric hum in his skin and a tightness in his chest. Were she anAngara, he would know how to advance their intimacy. The most openand important moments were after stressful events or time apart –both of which were well-represented on each mission – and yet heheld himself back each time she re-boarded.

Howdid humans deepen their bonds? Show their joy and affection at seeingtheir loved ones’ faces again? Humans were much more personal, hehad learned, much more private about demonstrating their feelings,and the last thing he wanted to do was drive her away. The yearninghad only intensified as their relationship had become tender,something that both elated and terrified him.

Andthat pull had left him pacing in the docking bay since the Nomad hadsignaled that it was en route half an hour ago.

Ablast of heat reflected off of Eos’ surface as the hangar dooropened. For a moment, everything was blinding – but Jaal wasalready walking forward as Ryder hit the button to shutter the doorclosed behind her.

“Well,”she said, “that was educational.”

Drackchuckled, giving his carapace a rough shake and sending a spray ofsand across the floor in either direction. “Admit it, Ryder, thatwas funny.”

Ryderwas about to call over a response when her gaze fell on Jaal, and thesmile that greeted him warmed him like the desert sun.

“Jaal!You were waiting?”

“Notlong.” He tapped the back of his wrist to her shoulder – anAngaran greeting that he had taught her – and she did the same tohis. “Was your trip a fruitful one?”

“Better,”Drack interrupted. “Knocked two remnant together. Ended upfusing when they were trying to repair the damage. Exploded prettyquick.” He shook a rock out of his cowl. “Heh. It wasgreat.”

“Allright,” Ryder conceded, “it was hilarious. Still, twice theremnant means twice the explosion, and I do not want to get caught inthat again.”

“Speakingof which.” Cora appeared at her side, stripped of her armor tothe waist. “Let’s have a look at that shoulder.“ 

Jaalwatched with great interest as Ryder obeyed, sitting on a crate andpeeling away pieces of her outer guard.  “Left one,”she said, and Jaal noticed a twinge as she maneuvered that arm. “I’mnot sure what got hit, exactly.”

“We’llsee.”

Herhands settled on Ryder’s shoulder, and Jaal’s breath caught inhis throat.  As she explored the area with firm, probing touchesand Ryder exposed the side of her throat to grant Cora better access,he felt heat rising to his face. It was a few moments before herealized how rude his stare was, and politely averted his gaze.

Hehad thought humans more private. Perhaps his observations wereincorrect.

“Feelslike you just pulled it,” Cora announced after a short while. “Goeasy on it and you should be fine.”

Ryderrolled her neck as Cora withdrew. “Roger that.” She stood,pulling up an interface on her omni-tool as she glanced over at Jaal.“I have to debrief Addison, but we can talk on the way?”

“I– have something that needs my attention here,” he replied. “ButI would very much like to hear any stories you may have. Later,perhaps.”

Shenodded, typing as she walked. “Sure, just come find me.” Themessage screen beeped for her attention, and as soon as she wasthrough the first set of doors, Jaal quickly crossed the bay toCora’s side.

“Jaal!”She finishedclicking her pistols back into place on the rack. “Need something?”

“Amoment, if you have time,” he said. “Privately.”

—-

Thedoor to the Pathfinder’s cabin was open, and Jaal rapped oneknuckle against the metal wall.

“Comeon in.”

Asthe door slid shut behind him, the first thing he noticed was herposture. As she sat at her terminal, the side supporting her injuredarm was rolled forward and slumping to better relieve the pressure.He knew that feeling all too well, and his own shoulder throbbed insympathy.

"Sorryabout this morning,” she said as she crossed over to sit on thesofa nearest him. “Duty called, but…” She smiled anddraped her good arm over the back of the upholstery. “I reallywas looking forward to spending time with you.”

Thatsmile. Those words. His heart.

“Sowas I,” he admitted, closing the distance between them. “Howis your injury?”

“Uncomfortableand stiff, but minor. Nothing to worry about.”

Sheattempted to demonstrate, but flinched the moment she extended herarm. With a hiss, she reached up to press her fingers into the spacejust above her shoulder - and Jaal saw his opportunity.

“Please,”he said, replacing her hand with his. “Allow me.”

Tohis delight, she immediately turned her back and squared up againstthe sofa, offering the injured area up freely. “Yes,”she groaned, “by all means.”

Corahad been most instructive, as had the ‘volunteers’ she’drecruited from their human staff. After he’d explained how intimateshoulders were to the Angara – and she apologized profusely for anyoffense she might have caused – she had been more than happy tooffer her expertise.

Itwas a softer skill, she’d said with a note of regret, most of whichshe rarely was given a chance to showcase. He liked Cora; hercommando training and disciplinary air hid a tender heart.

Jaalwas grateful for the favor, and even more so for the insight intohumanity.

Ashis thumbs found the nape of Ryder’s neck, her head tilted forwardand displayed an expanse of bare skin that set his heart racing. Howlittle it took for her to unfold under his hands, he marveled, howshe trusted and welcomed his touch. He found the ridge of her spineand began to press long, firm v-shaped strokes outward, rewarded byher quiet sigh.

Thespine was so vulnerable, especially considering its importance. Itwas a large part of why shoulders were so important to the Angara,why all of their cowls and capes were so designed. He imagined thefabric of a rofjinn pooling around Ryder’sshoulders as his fingertips wove downwards, heat of her skinradiating even through the barrier of his gloves. He would sew herone, designed after his own, and buckle it about her as he explainedthe garment’s significance.

Jaalfelt a flush in his throat. Such a gesture was surely too soon. Yethow could he not think of such things, when he was being granted suchintimacies as this?

Histhick, fused digits flattened as her neck curved, following themuscles - trapezius, Cora had called them - asthey blended into the dip between shoulder and throat. He met someresistance from the tension and swelling that followed trauma, andRyder hissed out a tight breath.

Jaaltook great care to work through every inch and ensured the release ofeach taut strand before moving on. He had always been commended inthe Resistance for being thorough, and it stood to reason that hewould be the same in other areas – especially when it came tobringing pleasure and comfort.

Pleasureand comfort, he thought to himself as he switched to usingthe heels of his palms and deeper pressure. The choice of phrasingwasn’t lost on him; he was almost grateful to be wearing his gloveswhile touching her so intimately. She stifled a moan, and every nervein his fingertips sang.

Thethrill of courtship was made all the more beautiful and terrifyingwhen navigating not only a new lover, but a new race andculture and way to love.

Jaalwas ready and willing.

“Howdoes this feel,” he murmured as he ran long, firm strokes upward.“Is this all right?”

“Betterthan all right.” A warm noise vibrated in her throat and shemumbled something unintelligible. “Thank you.”

Pleased,Jaal continued moving up, following the trail of muscle back to hernape. He began rubbing slow circles in the flat plane behind her earand jaw on either side of her neck, enjoying the hum it earned him.Learning every inch of his darling one’s physiology was a privilege;he would offer his own body to her in the same way.

Heseemed to have discovered a particularly enjoyable spot, as exploringbehind her ears brought a smile to her face and she leaned her headback to be better pressed into his hands.

Herupturned face was too much to resist. Taking the chance, Jaal slidthe fingers of both hands under her chin and tilted it up just a bitmore to grant him better access. The buckles of his rofjinnclicked against the back of the sofa as he stooped to close theremaining distance between their mouths in a warm, affectionate kiss.

Tohis relief, Ryder stretched her arms up to pull him down closerdespite the awkward angle, and he chuckled against her mouth when hischin bumped her pointed human nose. Any entertainment, however, wassoon replaced by heat as the kiss deepened and the taste of herblossomed on his tongue. He felt her grip on his shoulders tighten,and he groaned softly at the low thrum of heat that it elicited.

Theirfirst kiss had been sparked from joy, from hope – but this one heldthe promise of desire.

Asthey parted, she kept him from withdrawing too far, smiling at himlazily and running the delicate fingertips of one hand over his chinand nose. “Hey.”

Hisheart double-beat.

“Hello.”

Shesnickered, lifting her face to gently press her forehead to his.

“Comesit next to me,” she invited. “Kiss me again. I’ll tell you aboutthe mission, and you can tell me about what you did while I was gone.Sound good?”

“Iwould like nothing better,” he said, and he meant it.

#prompts #drabbles #jaal #jaal ama darav #jaal x ryder #fem!ryder #mass effect andromeda

[kraveller]

Kraveller’s Review: Figure Skating Short Program

Another wonderful women who shows their wonderful skill in the figure skating, they have awed me in their unique performances. To have the access to the clip that I am about the review, the click is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEtYYtwX1sM

Disclaimer: Please note I intend no copyright infringement to the pictures in this blog. The author does not own or claim the pictures found in this blog.

Rink Dimension

The court-like in figure skating is the rectangular rink that has no sharp edges. The measurements in terms of length are usually 60 meters. It must not be less than 56 meters. While thirty meters in width, which should not be less than 26 meters. The edges have 8.5 meters radius. And the total area of the rink is 1738 meters squared. For more understanding of the rink dimension, the picture is below.

Equipment

A skater can use much equipment in this sport, but the following are the needed equipment that a skater should have to execute this sport.

Ice skates

The first thing you should have is the ice skates for you to go to the rink. Choosing the best ice skate is relevant for the performer's comfort to have no problem executing the performance.

Costume

This can be unique I every competitor, they may connect it their music or emotions on the song, and can even use it for their presentation just like what Alina Zagitova did, if you didn’t notice in the video, try to watch it again. The only thing that a skater should remember in choosing a costume, it should be something that doesn’t fall to the ground because it can cost a 0.5 deduction in the score.

Socks

Socks, which can’t be really be seen in the video since they are underneath the ice skates. The skaters use it to avoid having a cold feet, but it can affect their presentation since socks causes friction. It’s advisable to use thin socks to still have a control on their presentation and in the same time don’t have a cold feet.

Skate guards

In the video, if you have noticed, after they present and go outside the rink they directly grab the skate guards. It is important because once you use it outside the rink, you will not be able to use it anymore. The skate is only exclusive within the ice.

Basic Skills

Unlike most sports, these basic skills can be used in other sports such as hockey and speedskating. The following basic skills are from the Go Figure Skating website.

Steps

The figure skating steps should be executed based on the music's message or what the performer wants the audience and judges to understand the music. The only need on the step is for the performer to use the entire rink.  

Spins

The spin is one of the sensational thing that a skater can do, especially if well executed and is connected with the song. There is one of the skaters in the performance wherein she used a very sad song and as she did the spin, she made it look like she is deeply saddened which makes it very wonderful. Not only well executed and connected to the song, but if it is done fast because of how clean and graceful the performer is in the audience’s eyes. There are three spins that are needed to be executed, the camel, sit and upright.

Jumps

This is similar to the spin but is executed in the air, a lot of skaters find this hard to do or earn a deduction on the score after doing this. Maintaining balance and using strength in landing is important in executing this, which makes it different to women who petite or small. This is very hard that’s why the International Judging System made this contain a big score in the criteria, especially in the triple and quadrupole jumps. There are skaters who have good tactics, they have failed some of the elements in the criteria, so they execute these jumps perfectly that makes them still attain a good score. The jump sequences required in this are two, first can be any type of jump after that is an axel jump.

Turns

When you read it, you find it easy but it is not that easy. There are many types of turns that can help a player a lot in his/her performance, it actually helps in the advance part of the figure skating. There may be basic turns, there are also difficult turns. What turn is really essential in this sport is that it aids in jumping, like it gives time for the skater to regain more strength such as in the three turn or mohawk.

Spirals

These are the ones that can usually be seen in the last part of the performance, it is the one wherein the one leg glides up in the air. Before executing this, the skater is thought a ballet position which is the arabesque, the leg is able to reach the waist height afterwards the catch foot wherein the leg goes above the head height. If one does changes in the edges, it will receive more points which only some of the participants have done, can be seen in the next part of this blog.

Technical and Tactical Skills

1. Bradie Tennell (USA)

In the first part, it immensely scared me that she might have a low score since she used a fast song. Once a person uses a quick piece, the person will feel pressure because of the beat, but she proved me wrong in my thoughts. Her basic skill is level 4. For someone who ages 20 years old, this one is pretty huge given the age. Speaking about her basic skills, her turns were executed neatly. It felt like she was like a wind, that flawless. The steps, spins, jumps, and her movement as well. But she had a problem doing a spiral, and she fell because of the footwork.

The movements she has shown on her performance have shown how she is knowledgeable in the basic skills, knowing what they are, and how they are executed. The performance she showed was not perfect, but she gave her best. She is a performer that really used her height to her advantage; since her jumps were good and the landing, there was a mistake because she made a mistake on her footwork that made her lose balance in making the triple toe. But everything else were perfectly executed. The triple toe is understandable since this basic skill that needs to be executed is difficult to execute, executing this requires great strength and body control. According to my research, only 11 women have successfully executed this in competitions, and in the same time this affects a lot on one’s score.

2. Isadora Williams (Brazil)

The choice of the song is matched with the emotion of the performer and costume. From the first until the end of her performance, she has not made my eyes look away from her marvelous performance. If you have noticed on the way she performed, she poured her emotions into the song that it made her connect to the audience. In the same time, even she has poured her emotions into the song, she did not forget to make a wonderful execution of the things. The transition was neat, it seemed like a storybook, the audience throughout were captivated. She did make a mistake such as the lay back spin, she needs to be more flexible. The emcees stated that the height does help a person to execute this, but in my perspective, it is not the height alone but also the flexibility of the person. There were even some competitors in the competition which were small yet their spin was wonderfully executed.

As you look into her performance, she had problems on her turns and spins. Even the emcees have saw her tactical, for her to be safe was to make it slow, especially after her mistake in the lay back spin.

3. Anna Khnychenkova (Ukraine)

This one has a performance which the performer was not able to give her best. The emcees had said her performances in the previous competitions, which were all impressive. The author of this blog alone, looking at them and I can say that it is indeed spectacular to even be able to join a lot of competitions alone, how much win. Rudeness is what I refuse to be seen in the manner I will be writing my thoughts about her performance since I know that this sport is difficult to do in the first place. She knows how to execute the basic skills but was not able to have the consistency of it. The choice she had in her music had affected her entire performance, since her song is fast it pressured her throughout her performance. With her basic skills, it has affected her planning of her tactical skills because her mistakes were like the domino effect, they were happening after another. She has a lot to improve, especially her confidence in what she is doing. There were a lot of times in her performance that she didn’t trust the things she was doing in the rink.

4. Diana Nikitina (Latin)

Before anything else, it amazes me that there are a lot of young people in this event. I have personally expected people who are older to join this kind of competition. Back to Nikitina, her performance was not that clean, well she has a lot of room for improvement. Her choreography was nice, but the execution of it was not the judges were looking for in the criteria. The basic skills such as turns, steps, spins, jumps, spirals and moves were executed, but there was no consistency of the proper execution of these basic skills. Such as the spin, she didn’t trip but her spin was under rotated which also mean that her spin was not properly executed. And her tactic was to dance with the beat as she performs, and every time she is thinking about her next move she jumps. In her performance, there was a frequent jumping happening.

5. Kim Hanul (South Korea)

This is the participant who have shown the audience that height is never a hindrance for one to give a lovely performance, she has showed her flexibility throughout her performance. Regarding her basic skills, she was also to execute everything but she also had problem regarding the consistency. Actually, the only basic skill that she was not able to do that well was the spin. Just like Isadora Williams, she was enjoying herself perform in the rink and vibe with the song to make the audience connect into her performance. Which can affect the score of the person since the jumps should be based off on the rhythm, the take-offs and landing do matter in this. Her footwork has also influenced her performance, she might not have fell down but the judges have looked into her footwork before doing the given actions that are included in the criteria. One of the favorite tactical skill that she has shown was her using the area in the rink, she made a good use for her to wonderfully express her emotions into her performance.

6. Anita Oestlund (Sweden)

The song she chose fits her costume, she looked daring which I really thought that she will beat Bradie Tennel, the first one in the chart as she performed. Before her downfall and the tactic, she had that I loved the most, let’s go through the basic skills that she has shown to the audience. She actually did the turns, steps, spins, jumps, spirals and moves but are not able to give the proper justification of theses steps or like give emphasis to it. In watching the video, you get to be like having the eyes of the judges as well, this sport is not only looking at if the person have done the basic skills but also if it looks so clean like it’s pleasing to the eye. This sport is like an art, which the basic skills are part of the canvas that should be given emphasis.

Proceeding to what really caused a downfall on her performance was her missing the triple toe which is the one that can affect the score that much. She did made a mistake in doing the triple toe without getting herself be confident in the rink. If you look into the video closely, when she first entered, she looked confident but her breathing says otherwise. She had missed the triple toe because she did not trust herself to be able to do it, she had second thoughts. But what I loved about her tactic was she became more confident and daring like after the mistake she had made. She made a mistake and directly made a mental note in mind to not do it again and made her performance much better. Certainly missing one has affected her score that much, but her coping mechanism is very much commendable.

7. Li Xiangning (China)

Before commenting about her great tactics, the author of the blog is astonished that despite their young age (we have the same age), they have done something so wonderful in life like joining this kind of competition. Going to the basic skills, she actually have done everything but the execution was not perfectly made such as the spin, there was a slight of awkwardness as she executed it. There were parts that the execution were not perfectly made but the choreography was actually wonderful. The tactics that I recommend on this wonderful woman was to think carefully on her next moves, especially the one that a lot have a problem to execute like the triple toe, since this is the most difficult. She carefully considered the footwork too since it affects the other movement she will execute in her performance, intelligent woman indeed.

8. Alexia Paganini (Switzerland)

The starting of her performance, the vibes it gets to the audience is impactful, especially the song with her outfit that is similar with Juliet. An astonishing performance made by the youngest competitor of this program. Speaking about her basic skills, it was very fantastic in the first part of the presentation, but just like the other performers they also lacked the consistency. As she did the spins, she tripped which did made the judges give her minus points. But on her technical, she actually did think thoroughly about the next actions that she will do next which is remarkable. Carefully thinking about the next movement is essential because slight error of this can place big change on one’s score.

9. Aiza Mambekova (Kazakhstan)

Her confidence as she entered the rink is visible, but her confidence did outshine her memory on the next moves. She was able to do the basic skills in the first part of the performance, but after she made a mistake, just like the domino effect, everything fell. After the mistake, she made low jumps and under rotated spins. The energy she had in the first part of the presentation was wasted if you ask me, because everything fell apart just because of one mistake.

Her tactical skills is personally not that commendable because once she made one mistake, she did get it into her head until she was not able to execute the other movements properly.

10. Emmi Peltonen (Finland)

Another confident and classy woman who had made a high quality of triple toe, which is difficult to attain by many in this competition. Before criticizing her technical and tactical skills, I would like to commend her song choice it helped her a lot in thinking on the next move, the transition was smooth despite the fact that she made a mistake. Going to her technical skills, the first part which is the triple toe is remarkable. She had a good tactical on doing this because she made sure to do it slowly to have it done marvelously. The other basic skills, she was able to execute but not perfectly. Usually, the women in this competition actually has made a mistake in their footwork, but with her it’s more on the strength. Probably because of the chills she earned because of this competition, she was not able to eat well. My commendable tactic she should have next time is to eat well, it really provide a suffice energy.

11. Larkyn Austman (Canada)

Being nervous in the Olympics is normal since you are fighting over the top with different marvelous ladies who are also good in that sport in different parts of the world, but playing everything easily so that there will be no deductions is sometimes dangerous. In her performance, she can execute the basic skills but she has the hesitation in what she is doing in the rink. With this hesitation that she has, it is stopping her from executing the movements perfectly, it’s like an acid damaging her performance slowly. The main cause of her performance to downfall is her no confidence on herself, which made her lose her balance and forget the proper footwork that a skater should do before executing something like the triple toe and others. She needs work on her confidence in the rink and feel like she owns it since the rink is hers alone to enjoy.

 12. Mae Berenice Meite (France)

Height is an advantage in this kind of sport since it helps one for jumping because of the enormous strength stored in the legs. The execution of the basic skills was actually marvelous, but she needs to choose a song next time that she can express herself more than just turning around which is in her freestyle. If you have noticed in her board, almost everything were green, but in terms of freestyle it seems like the skater was just vibing with the song. Well, it’s good that one is enjoying the song but the choreography should also be considered. Overall, she enjoyed her performance but the choreography is not commendable. But it’s good that she is very good in the doing the basic skills, she has a lot of opportunities for her to become more better in this sport.

13. Kailani Crane (Australia)

The performance was like a musical, but there is only one performer. She actually has chosen a good song for her, but the audience were not captivated enough on the song because not a lot of people watched Mary Poppins nor their songs are that known by a lot of people. Personally if you ask me, that’s the only thing she is missing that made her score not that big which I thought it will be since the execution of the basic skills as well as her tactics such as the foot working plan before doing an element is very commendable. What also is a wonderful in her performance was her expression, she really expressed what the song wants to express. Sadly, not much people got connected with the song since it is not that known.

14. Ivett Toth (Hungary)

This contestant is really shocking, usually the skaters use soothing songs, but she used a rock song. Her costume did suit the song, it’s like she’s having her own rock concert in the rink. Now, let’s proceed to the basic skills, she actually have done everything but consistency is also not present. Just like the other performers, she also was not able to balance herself from the triple loots and other jump. Since her song is rock, she finds it difficult to show her expression on the song. A bit more of practicing her footwork after jumping and a song where she can express herself a bit more.

15. Giada Russo (Italy)

Another marvelous woman who wants to make the games turn round and be considered unique from the other participants which I greatly am in awe with her presentation, especially in the first part. Her tactic is to become unique, the last part of her presentation is very wonderful that it made my eyes stick into the screen. Let’s admit that her tactical skills are good, but the elements required were not executed since she forgot to execute it. She forgot to execute the combination of the triple toe, and missed another element. It was maybe because of her past mistake which was the triple toe, but after a while she didn’t let it faze her anymore and enjoyed her performance.

16. Loena Hendrickx (Belgium)

Just like Giada earlier, she also wanted to be unique, but she forgot to remember that the footwork and other basics are given importance in this sport or perfection on those, and confidence on oneself to be able to execute is important. It’s great to focus into perfection, but one should also look into the fundamentals. During her execution in the triple toe, she only earned the yellow mark because she almost fell since the footwork that she decided to use is risky for one to fall. After that she failed to execute the double spin because she hesitated, the cause of this can be her almost fall in the first part of her performance. She can be a very good skater in the future once she gets to have the feeling like she owns the rink to gain confidence and be able to connect with the audience, and her footwork should be focused.

17. Nicole Schott (Germany)

Honestly, I love her music choice and her performance overall. There might be problems regarding her footwork because she almost fell in executing the jump. After all, she did it near the wall, so she limited her movement. Her mistakes were covered by her giving details or emphasis on the dance using her hands and expression, and it made the audience be somewhat connected to her. Her tactic is to give meaning to the song or give emphasis on it, which makes her remarkable. After her performance, she became the 2nd in the chart after America, in her time of execution. Overall, she just needs more work on the footwork and planning on when to execute the following elements needed to be executed in this sport.

18. Nicole Rajicova (Slovakia)

Before anything else, the more and more skaters that have performed the more my expectations with them. The longer I watched, the more wonderful the skaters are in this show, and it has indeed making me love this clip. Let’s proceed to Nicole, she has impressed me because of the wonderful execution since she used her music as a guide for her performance. The transition of her performance is clean, her jumps were big. Well, just like the other performers she has also a problem in the triple toe. She executed it near the boundery of the rink which made her limit her movement just like the other skater earlier. Her basic skills were lovely, but her freestyle was not much an enjoyment of the audience. She has gotten knowledge of the elements, she just needs more movement to emphasize her movements and connect to the audience. Connecting to the audience is also important in this sport, she may use hand movements or face expression, it’s not only focus on the enjoyment of the performer of the song or the performance itself.

19. Kaori Sakamoto  (Japan) 

This one has almost reached the level of perfection and during the duration of her performance I was in awe. The jumps, triple axel, camel, and other elements were well executed, she made it seems so effortless.  She chose a wonderful song which people has different ways of expressing and she has shown her interpretation of the song just from her costume, expression and dance itself. The others doesn’t really correlate the dance to the song, but she has done it wonderfully. The only thing that she needs to work into is the audience impact, maybe because of the different interpretation of the song, but her performance overall is wonderful. Shocking from a 17 years old, she has made a wonderful road of her career in skating and I am sure that I can see more of her in the future.

20. Mirai Nagasu (USA)

When she entered the rink, we can see the muscle tapes In her back and thighs, she may have an injury that made her muscles not be able to balance her for a jump in this performance. Throughout her performance, despite her muscle problems she made sure to make it sensational. There is a time that she fell in the triple toe, since she made a mistake in her footwork so totally missed the triple axel. But what I love about her is that after she made a mistake, it didn’t faze her. She smiled even with it, she made her mistake a ground for her to make her performance better which did improve. Her transition and flow looked like effortless after that, and she regained her body control.

21. Gabrielle Daleman (Canada)

Another wonderful performance especially in the freestyle, she had used her music effectively for the steps in her dance. A very good tactic that she has used is that she made her music connect to her emotions as well that made her performance wonderful. Just like the other performers, she also has problem regarding her footwork, she fell but stands up again and make her performance better again. In her landing from doing the triple toe, the one which a lot of the women make a mistake of, she fell that greatly affected her score but because she poured her heart into her performance not only did the audience appreciated a lot from her but also the judges did. Her performance has showed that the interpretation or the emotions of the skater does affect the score. The one that she needs to work on is her balance and footwork, these are the common problems that almost all of the performers have.

22. Karen Chen (USA)

Just like Gabriella, she has connected her dance to the song which makes it magnificent. Her choreography is very good but the execution is not that good. She doesn’t have a really balance and the speed has slowed down which needs to have a consistency. As she did the camel, her speed has slowed down that much. What I actually love about her tactic was to do a double jump and other plus points movements for her to gain more points despite her errors, she really is a wise woman. Not only that, she also performed sparrow that gives goosebumps to the crowd since she did it with the song’s beat, wonderful indeed. Overall, she needs to work on the consistency of her movement such as the speed and her balance should be coordinated on her body like what Kaori has shown.

23. Elizabet Tursynbaeva (Kazakhstan)

There are few women in this competition who have used a fast-paced song that did affect their performance either good or bad, but a lot has contributed them badly. The pressure being under the watch of a humongous crowd then the pressurized song can really affect the performance and one of which is Tursynbaeva. In the start of her performance, she missed the triple toe which has the highest score in the technical score. Since her song is fast-paced, her thoughts on her footwork was lost because of the other thoughts. Not only that, but it has also affected her strength. The tactic she should have next time is to deal with her performance despite the pressure and the song choice not only because it’s famous and the crowd loves it, but she should also look into her comfort.

24. Dabin Choi (South Korea) 

This one from her outfit to the song, it looks like she is fragile because of it. Looking at her, it seems scary if she falls or fails to do something because she looks like a jar or someone who should be looked after. All through her performance as I carefully watch it, she made it look like the flow of water, transition is neat and effortless movements. There is a bit of a problem regarding the footwork, and in the emotions because there were parts she was smiling then sad. She was able to express her interpretation in the dance, but she was not able to show it in terms of her expression in her face that broke me out from feeling her performance. Honestly, it was wonderful just the emotions needed.

25. Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

During her performance, the audience neither did the emcees had any comment nor talked. She did the elements so clean and natural; the balance and speed were present. The longer the time in this competition, the more wonderful the skaters are in the rink. The choreography is connected to herself, it’s like she’s expressing herself. In the rink she looked like a mature woman, her choreography to expression to costume were wonderfully planned to form a whole level of performance. The timing of the beat of the song, fits on her choreography. The interpretation she has of the song did not show that clearly but her presentation is wonderful. These women in the rink are wonderful, and I have lost my words with these amazing performances.

26. Satoko Miyahara (Japan)

Since the previous skaters have done a splendid performance, the bars set are that high. And Satoko did not disappoint, she did execute short jump which is the only mistake that she have done in the duration of her performance, but she did a wonderful presentation because she made the flow like a story. The seven elements that are needed to be performed was connected for a wonderful delivery of a story. Her balance and speed are very good, she just lacks more strength for her delivery on her presentation. Not only in the jumping, but also for the other elements.

27. Kaetlyn Osmond (Canada)

Just like the other ones, she also had the perfected balance and speed throughout her performance. What amazes me is that the last performers, the ones in the group 5 really did a good job in doing the triple axel which a lot of woman failed to do. They made it look so smooth or easy to do even it really isn’t, well if you are a beginner. Her performance is extraordinary, she did really show her personality for people to be connected to her performance. It gave the feeling of Europe restaurant, it’s like the language was shown in her dance which makes it marvelous. The jumps were wonderful also since they were big, there were parts she needs to look into her footwork, but overall I loved it.

28. Alina Zagitova (Russia)

Russia are filled with wonderful skaters, and this one is their best as they have said in the comment section of the video in Youtube. Before watching the video, I have read the comment section to know who to anticipate and she did not disappoint me. First off is the costume, if you haven’t noticed she rolled her sleeves to transform the white swan into a black swan as her song changed transition, the song she has used is a mix of two wonderful famous songs. Second is how daring her movements are, usually the presenters are playing the safe game, but she did not follow that. She did not do the elements directly, she made sure that she tells a story. Not only that, when she did the third to the last element, she did it after one another which is difficult but she did it, looking so effortless. She even executed the ones that can add up to her score, her movement made the story she want to express to other people go to them. Third, the emotions, it was all there, from the face, hand movements to the choreography. And lastly, all the basic skills of the skate have moved in harmony which makes her performance deserving to earn the gold medal.

29. Carolina Kostner (Italy)

Just like the other performers, she also had problems in doing the triple loop. Despite her mistake, she still continued to show her emotions as she presented, the interpretation of the song is really shown in the choreography and in the facial expression of the presenter. Also similar to the other skaters, she also needs work on her balance and strength, in landing she really needs this since she has problems regarding it. The thing in this sport, perfection is needed, but even her elements were not perfectly in green, she did her best to give emphasis on her emotions to the song which is very good.

30. Maria Sotskova (Russia)

The last performer wherein the expectation are placed into, not because she is the last one to present but also she is a Russian. A lot of Russians in this event have marvelously performed with their best such as Alina Zagitova, this is why the presentation of Maria had a lot of mistakes. She might have been buried with thoughts about it, and additionally her song is fast that makes it not help her calm down as she perform. In the start of her performance, she did the triple loop which was a fail because of her hand which cause her lose balance. There were a lot of factors that made her make mistakes during her performance, but the important thing is that she is one of the skaters that can make it to the full program. The speed is also a problem of hers, since when she did the camel, it was very slow which didn’t go with the beat of the song. We really couldn’t blame her because of a lot of pressure, but I know for sure she performed very well if without the pressure.

These women have done a job well done, even the mistakes one should always rise up again and make the performance better than the past. Hands up with these wonderful women.  

 Rules of the Game

There are different rules in figure skating, since this is for singles, there is a different rule for this game. Let’s talk about the Level 1 Freeskate program which is used in this game, the rules are from the Olympics.

1. The skater can start his or her performance in any part of the rink.

2. The judging and timing of the performance starts as the songs starts. The song chosen by the skater can be music, instrumental or vocal.

3. If a required element is not done by the performer and does additional elements or other elements that are not intended to be included, the box of the required element is still blocked or the skater will not receive points on the required element.

4. If the presenter does an unlisted element and makes a mistake, it does not affect his/her score in the overall presentation.

5. The following should be seen in the performance: double axel Paulsen, double or triple loop jump, jump combination that may consist of two double jumps or one double and one triple jump or two triple jumps, flying sit spin, lay back or sideways leaning spin or camel spin without change of foot, spin combination with one change foot and step sequence wherein the performer uses the rink effectively.

6. Every fall of the presenter, costume and music failure has 0.5 deduction.

How to officiate the sport

Referee

The referee is the one who makes sure that the rules are applied throughout the performance. The referee is also the one who approves the medical things with the medical advisor in case of emergency in the competition. The referee also makes sure that the judges are not talking with each other, bring notes together with them, look at the scores of the other judges and like since he is the spokesperson of the Officials. Reminds the judges regarding the rules before the event starts. Has the power to stop the performance or to delay or to restart, and to rule over the decision if the ice is eligible to be performed on. There are a lot of responsibilities that a referee has, he or she can interfere on the decision and actions of the other officiates of the sport and the whole event.

Judges

The judges are not allowed to talk to each other regarding the performance of a competitor nor show expression because of an error that a performer has made. There should be no communications within them. Also, there should be no prepared marks. Deductions are made when the judges as well as the referee has made a meeting, there will be no deductions made if there is  split vote.

Technical Controller

The technical controller is the one who has the power and authority to correct the illegal elements or movements or the deletion of elements. The one that supervises the Technical specialists and Data Operator on their works and decisions. Attends the practice session before the competition for the preparations and assists the referee in the Round Table Discussion where the judges are present.

Technical Specialist

The technical specialist is the one who looks into the performed elements, illegal elements, falls, level of difficulty of the elements and deletes the additional elements.

Assistant Technical Specialist

Same responsibilities with the technical specialist since she or her makes decisions with the technical specialist.

Data Operator

The data operator is the one who inputs the elements seen the performance, levels of difficulty of them and the one that corrects it in the direction of the technical controller. The data operator is the one that sends the additional elements to the technical specialist and technical controller through the computer.

Replay Operator

The one that makes a record of each element that the presenter has performed for the reference of the Technical Panel, Referee and Judges.

[its-filmfixer-blog]

Fixing ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)

The goals of this fix are as follows;

1. Use the same basic plot structure of Batman v. Superman to primarily fix the following issues with the original film.

2. Make the finished product primarily a Superman movie. 

3. Lex’s plan needs to make sense.

4. Feature more of Superman’s supporting cast.

Click below for the Fix.

The Fix;

The film opens “somewhere in the Indian Ocean.” Several small children go diving near one of the Kryptonian machines that Superman destroyed at the end of ‘Man of Steel.’ They fish out several large rocks and carry them to a man in a business suit standing on the shore. Using a rock hammer, he breaks one of the rocks in half to reveal a glowing, green crystal-like substance.

Flashback to the day of the attack on Metropolis. Bruce Wayne arrives on his private air-field and contacts the head of Wayne Corp’s Metropolis division, Michael Corben, to check on the status of the building’s evacuation. Corben is urged to leave by his son, John, but he refuses, claiming he has something to take care of first. Corben gets on a nearby computer terminal and informs Bruce that he is forwarding all research and plans for “Project Batwing” to Lucius Fox in Gotham. Just as the transfer is completed, Superman and General Zod smash into the building, destroying it and killing Corben. Bruce arrives at the wreckage and finds John Corben with his legs pinned under part of the building. They both look to the sky coldly as Superman and Zod streak across the sky towards their final confrontation.

The opening credits roll over a montage of various news reports detailing the world’s reaction to Superman and the suddenly rare appearances of Batman. Other reports show Bruce Wayne shaking the hand of John Corben, his legs now amputated at the knee, and Senator June Finch becoming the chief anti-Superman voice in Washington.

Eighteen months later, we arrive in a scene of panic as a small town is threatened by heavy flooding. Just when all hope seems lost, several people are rescued by a red and blue blur. A family of survivors on a rooftop look up to the sky and cheer as Superman descends to save them. While Superman checks on the survivors, some of them verbally attack the mayor (there to thank Superman for his help) and claim that he is responsible for the disaster since he cut funding to emergency operations for the town. Superman admonishes the mayor before leaving. In retaliation for the slight, the mayor testifies before Congress that Superman’s existence was the reason for the funding being “diverted,” since “who needs first responders with Superman around?” Senator Finch makes her stance on Superman clear; that she considers him a threat until she is fully convinced otherwise. When asked who she has working on possible solutions, she only smiles.

Finch arrives at LexCorp, a tech company and conglomerate that has become one of the top businesses in the world thanks to their rapid and advanced recovery of Metropolis. We meet Lex Luthor, the young, red-headed CEO of the company, one of the smartest men on Earth and someone who knows it. He is the person Finch has working on the “Superman problem.” He takes her into his research labs and shows off the elements his scouts located from the Indian Ocean. He has already deduced the crystal to be pieces of the Kryptonian’s home world and thus has named the substance “kryptonite.” So far, he and his scientists have discovered three varieties of kryptonite; blue (which seems to have no effect), red (which increases irritation and anger after prolonged exposure), and green (which generates a low level radiation.) Lex demonstrates on the salvaged arm of Zod’s female lieutenant that the green kryptonite can pierce the seemingly invulnerable kryptonian flesh. Finch wants to know how much Luthor wants to create a Superman deterrent, and the scientist demands access to the crashed ship in Metropolis and the body of General Zod.

In Gotham City, Commissioner Gordon meets with Batman on the roof of GCPD. He informs him that several of the low level criminals that have been brought in have no criminal records and show signs of being hypnotized to commit their crimes. Batman seems non-committal and makes a vague promise to look into it. As Batman leaves, Gordon observes that he’s changed since the Kryptonians attacked and he barely sees him anymore. Batman tells him that there are bigger threats now than thieves and muggers.

In a Gotham apartment, we meet Jervis Tetch, a neuroscientist and amateur hypnotist with a fixation of the works of Lewis Carroll. He’s been hypnotizing people off the street and using them to steal for him. He’s counting money and reciting Carroll when he gets a phone call from Metropolis.

Back in Metropolis, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are introduced to their new photographer; James “Jimmy” Olson. The trio gets to know each other as they head for the dedication ceremony for a new Superman statue. The ceremony is sabotaged by the crippled John Corben, who has graffitied the statue with anti-Superman slogans. He publicly blames Superman for his father’s death and is arrested. Clark is shaken and confides in Lois that he’s still trying to make up for not reigning in his powers that day.

While investigating Zod’s ship, Lex discovers and activates a latent AI in the database that identifies itself as the Brain Interactive Construct. When Lex challenges the AI to impress him, the B.I.C. hacks the LexCorp mainframe and solves the issues they’ve been having with a new nano-machine technology. After seeing Corben on the news, Lex bails him out of jail and asks if he’s interested in taking revenge on Superman.

Back in Gotham, Bruce sulks in the Batcave. Alfred pushes him to pursue the hypnosis angle, but Bruce shrugs it off. When Alfred leaves, Bruce returns to watching coverage of Superman.

Back in Metropolis, Clark, Lois, and Jimmy cover a gala to celebrate Lex Luthor’s contributions to the city’s recovery. While trying to conduct an interview, Lois and Senator Finch clash on whether Superman is a positive or negative. Finch notes that Lois seems to be able to talk to Superman whenever she wishes and extends the vicarious invitation for Superman to testify before Congress. Clark finds Bruce Wayne and they have their own conversation. Bruce openly states that Superman could be a bad thing in the long run, while Clark has the same reservations about the Batman. He tells Bruce how relieved he is that Batman seems to be phasing himself out and notes how irritated Bruce becomes.

In the labs below the gala, Lex uses the nano-machines on Corben. The machines quickly go beyond Corben’s legs and begin replacing more of his internal tissues. Corben’s heart gives out from the stress. Lex, at a suggestion from the B.I.C., quickly replaces the dead heart with a generator powered by a chunk of kryptonite. Corben wakes up and notes that he can’t feel anything. Lex says that it’s a temporary side effect and invites him upstairs.

Lex debuts Corben and his new legs as models for a new line of prosthetics. Bruce tries to talk to Corben but is ignored. He mentions to Clark that he hasn’t spoken to him since he left the hospital. He receives a call from Alfred about a hostage situation and rushes out. Lois declares her intent to investigate Senator Finch.

Back in Gotham, Batman arrives at an empty warehouse and finds no hostages. Jervis Tetch appears and plants a miniature hypnosis card in his neck, giving Batman a vision of a world conquered and dominated by Superman. When he comes to, Tetch is gone. Batman returns to the Batcave and decides that all resources will now be devoted to finding a way to stop Superman before the future he saw can come to pass. Hacking into the LexCorp database, he finds files on kryptonite. Several days later in DC, as Corben prepares to testify before Congress, Superman arrives to speak. He and Corben get into a heated altercation that leads to Corben punching Superman in the face… and knocking him across the room. With his new powers revealed, Corben brawls with Superman through the Capital building and across the National Mall. Once Superman gains the upper hand, the kryptonite in Corben’s chest is exposed and weakens him. Before Corben can strike the fatal blow, Luthor arrives and uses a device to render Corben unconscious. He makes a grand show of helping Superman to his feet while the crowd goes wild. Corben is taken back to LexCorp and stored for future use. When Mercy Graves, Lex’s assistant, asks why he didn’t just let Superman be killed, Lex confesses that this was only a test. Lex returns to the ship and, with the B.I.C., begins the process of reanimating Zod’s corpse, using Lex’s own DNA as a trigger.

While watching footage of Superman and Corben battling, Bruce notices the kryptonite and how it affects Superman. Bruce suits up, sneaks into LexCorp, and steals the green kryptonite. On his way out, he encounters Superman. Superman explains that he believes that someone is working against him and he asks Batman to use his detective skills to help him find out who it is. When Batman inquires as to why he’d do that, Superman admits that while he doesn’t necessarily agree with Batman’s methods, he believes that they’re on the same side. Batman disagrees and Superman asks him why. Batman explains the concept of escalation. He tells Superman that when he started operating in Gotham, he only faced the mob and low-level criminals. As the years went by, he began to attract stranger and more dangerous foes. He reasons that Superman’s strength will attract stronger enemies, and worries that Superman will ultimately be corrupted by his own powers. While Superman scoffs at the notion, Batman cryptically warns that he’s watching the Man of Steel for just that very purpose. The two part uneasily, with Superman noting that Batman should trust him “since I didn’t use my powers to see who you really are.”

Lois’ investigations into Senator Finch’s dealings lead her to a link between Finch and Lex Luthor. She and Jimmy confront Lex about his ties to the very anti-Superman senator. Lex explains that what he’s doing is for the benefit of all mankind. Mercy knocks Lois out, but Jimmy barely escapes.

Back in the Batcave, Alfred finds Bruce starting to weaponize the kryptonite. He makes one final plea for sanity, but Bruce angrily declares that Superman must be stopped at any cost. Heartbroken at what Bruce has become, Alfred abandons him. Back at the ship, Lex and the B.I.C. observe the gestating Zod. The B.I.C. warns that if the process is terminated early, the effects could be disastrous. Senator Finch arrives and confronts Lex, suspecting that he intended to have her killed by Corben. Lex laughs the suggestion off and tells her that she’s no use to him dead. Tetch reveals himself and hypnotizes Finch.

Lex brings Lois to the roof of LexCorp and throws her off, summoning Superman. Once Lois has been taken to safety, Superman asks Lex if he’s the one who’s been working against him. Lex stealthily exposes Superman to red kryptonite gas while claiming that it was actually Batman working against him this whole time. Blinded by rage, Superman spies the bat-symbol and blasts off for Gotham.

Batman is waiting, clad in special armor. Using various green kryptonite weapons and tools to even the battlefield, Batman goes toe to toe with the Man of Steel. The two titans do battle across Old Gotham. Superman’s attacks break through Batman’s armor and finally destroy Tetch’s chip with a barely deflected blast of heat vision. His mind suddenly clear, Batman weathers the attack until the effects of the red kryptonite gas wear off. The two quickly deduce that Luthor is behind everything. Superman heads off immediately, while Bruce returns to the Batcave. He finds Alfred waiting and the two reconcile with Alfred revealing the completed Batwing. Bruce dons one of his old costumes and blasts off to Metropolis. Lois has found and convinced Jimmy to join her in investigating the kryptonian ship. They accidently interrupt the resurrection process and escape just as Lex and Tetch arrive. They are confronted by the united Batman and Superman. Lex discloses his entire plan. He intended for Batman and Superman to kill each other, and then release the resurrected Zod to wreak havoc in Metropolis. Using a new power-suit designed by the B.I.C., he would defeat Zod and enshrine himself as Metropolis’ true Superman. Against the B.I.C.’s warnings that the process has been interrupted, Lex completes activates the resurrected Zod. The process has left Zod with chalky, cracked skin and a severely diminished mental capacity. He can barely remember his own name.

Lex: “Well aren’t you bizarre?” Zod: “Bizarre? Zod? Bizarre Zod. Bizarrezod. Bizarrezo. Bizarro! Bizarro!”

Batman tries to use the green kryptonite, but finds it actually strengthens Bizarro. The resurrected kryptonian attacks Superman while Batman pursues Tetch and Luthor. Tetch attempts to plant another device on Batman, but he reverses the attack and uses Tetch’s own tech to overload the chip. Tetch is driven mad and collapses into a laughing, sobbing heap.

Superman and Bizarro battle across the city. Seeing the terrified people, Superman does his best to keep the battle contained to unoccupied areas.

Batman catches Lex and demands to know why the kryptonite didn’t work. When Lex mentions the blue that seemed to have no effect, Batman gets an idea and races back to LexCorp. Bizarro is finally wearing Superman down. As he’s about to strike the killing blow, Lois and Jimmy intervene, drawing his attention. Batman arrives just in time with the blue kryptonite, weakening Bizarro enough that Superman can knock him out. For a moment, Batman considers ended the threat of Bizarro with the mineral, but his morals ultimately win out. Jimmy snaps a picture of the two heroes shaking hands and formally introducing themselves. The headline of the new Daily Planet? “WORLD’S FINEST.”

A montage reveals character fates. Tetch, now calling himself the Mad Hatter, is placed in Arkham Asylum. Lex is arrested but freed when a hypnotized Senator Finch confesses to everything. Superman takes the kryptonian ship and Bizarro to the arctic for safe-keeping. While observing the shell of the only other remaining kryptonian, Superman promises to find some way of helping him.

Back in Metropolis, Superman visits Lex in his office and asks him why he hates him so much.

Lex: “Because you don’t belong here! You’re not human! Your very existence on this planet taints us, pollutes us. You’re stifling our growth as a species! We have grown and evolved for hundreds of thousands of years, and we have done it all without a Superman. I will do what must be done, even if none of THEM can understand. If I have to spend every cent I have, break every oath I’ve ever sworn… if I have to scour the universe to find some way of beating you, then I will do it and I will bring you down! Do you know why? Because I am SUPER. I am super because I wasn’t BORN super. I was born weak, and that makes me strong!”

(Special thanks to Dan Harmon for the main thrust of that monologue)

Superman asks Lex to just confess and save them all a lot of pain. Lex reveals a new ring with a chunk of green kryptonite, assurance that Superman cannot lay a finger on him. After a tense moment, Superman departs, promising to always be there to oppose people like Luthor. The B.I.C., now stored in LexCorp’s database, asks if wearing the ring is wise (due to the radiation.) Lex again brushes off the suggestion. He sits at his desk and asks the B.I.C. if he has any other names. The B.I.C. notes that he was originally called ‘Brainiac.” As Lex remarks that “this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he notices a clump of hair falling out of his head.

Batman and Superman have a final chat. Batman reiterates that stronger threats may be coming and the two of them might not be enough. They agree to seek out other heroes, but in the meantime they have each other’s backs. They part as friends, with each revealing their secret identities.

Back in Gotham, Bruce and Alfred share a moment in the Batcave. Alfred hints that his return to the spotlight might have lured back the few uncaptured bad apples. When Bruce asks what he means, Alfred reveals a puzzle box emblazoned with green question marks. They share a smile and get to work.

In Metropolis, Lois tells Jimmy that Superman appreciates his courage and gives him a gift from the Man of Steel; a signal watch to use if Superman is ever needed. Clark, Lois, and Jimmy have a warm moment together before heading out to cover a presentation at S.T.A.R. Labs.

In a mid-credits scene, Brainiac activates himself in Lex’s office and muses about finally being given the opportunity to finish what he started; eliminating the kryptonian race.

In the post-credits, the Mad Hatter is seen ranting in Arkham. As the camera pulls back, it reveals the incarcerated members of Batman’s rogues gallery, all “waking up” and chanting about the return of Batman.

THE END

This gives the DC Cinematic Universe a much more level launching point without throwing every character in the world at us from the very first moment. Wonder Woman is introduced in her own stand-alone film the following year. 2018 sees the release of ‘Man of Tomorrow’ (aka Man of Steel Part 3) and ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum.’ 

In 2019, we finally see the properly two part Justice League film.

So, did you enjoy this fix? Got comments, either good or ill? Let me know.

If you enjoyed this fix, please support my crippling milkshake addiction at http://ko-fi.com/thefilmfixer.

Until the next fix, I’m your friendly Film Fixer reminding you that there’s no such thing as a move that’s beyond repair.

#Batman #superman #batman vs superman: dawn of justice #filmfixer #lex luthor #brainiac #bizzarro #mad hatter

[nerddface]

Flower(y) Language

Characters: Thor Odinson, Reader, Loki, Space Mom

Warnings: Brief blood mention

Word count: 1898

Notes: Pre-films setting :)

Ficmas Day 15 | What is Ficmas?

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Thor wasn’t a timid person, by any stretch of the imagination. He was a warrior, the Prince of the Nine Realms, a god, for its worth! He had vanquished entire armies in a single day, and enemies three times larger than he with a single hand!

So, why, by the Norns, could he not speak to this woman?!

He couldn’t even truly say they were friends. She worked under her father in the palace grounds’ smithy, and saw him often, but every time she smiled at him over a repaired blade or piece of armor, he would lose any semblance of speech he might have had in his head. It was silly. There was no reason he should be so doeish with her. If he wanted her to be closer, all he needed to do was tell her so! There were dozens of ladies in the court who swooned at even a side glance from him. There was no way she would refuse him. She couldn’t. He would simply order her, as her Prince, if she did.

That was all that was on his mind as he sat down for supper with his parents and his brother. They were not attended by the Warriors Three or any of Odin’s advisors this evening as they usually would have been - Frigga had established one supper hour a month reserved only for the four of them, in an effort to keep them familiar. It provided a good opportunity, as well, to bring up personal subjects that might be too tender for outside ears. Perhaps he could ask his mother for some advice.

“What troubles you, Thor?” Frigga’s gentle voice brought Thor out of his head.

“Y/N,” he answered honestly. “I cannot seem to speak to her, for my quality. I cannot understand how it can be so difficult.”

“I know you believe yourself to be a grown warrior, my son,” his mother began with a knowing smile, “But you are still young, and have much to learn.”

“For decades, the Einherjar bested you in the arena,” Loki put in over the rim of his goblet. “I recall one particular–” Their mother levelled him with a look that not even the Allfather himself could attest halfway through his next sentence, and he swallowed his words with another swig of wine.

“Some of the boy you once were still resides within you. It isn’t something to be ashamed of.”

“Perhaps if he spoke with people on occasion, instead of at them,” Loki mumbled, apparently not spurned enough to restrain himself.

“At least I have people to talk to, Loki,” Thor shot back. Unfortunately the close, private quarters also allowed mouths a looseness they might not have had in other company. Bickering was not unusual.

“The only reason they are friends with you is because you are–”

“Boys.” Frigga’s warning went unheard.

“–the son of the Allfather! Do you truly think they value you over what opportunities you provide for them?”

“Show me some friends of yours, brother, and perhaps then we can–”

“Enough!” Odin’s booming command silenced them both. “If you are to do nothing but argue, both of you may return to your quarters.”

Loki pushed his chair back with a sharp scrape. “Gladly.”

Thor rose as well, nearly breaking the back legs of his chair in the process. “Excuse me,” he muttered, barely saying it at all, and stode out of the dining chambers in the opposite direction of his brother.

~

Loki was right. Thor kicked a fist-sized stone in his mother’s garden as he resented his brother’s aptitude. The stone skidded across the winding pavement, frightening off a flock of nearby sparrows. There was no way that Y/N would know how he felt about her if Thor never did anything further for her than normal. Even then, asking for a mend to his pauldrons was hardly romantic.

He kicked the rock and followed where it led him until it disappeared into tangle of thorns. He glared at the offending plant, as it had stolen his new plaything, until it dawned on him.

Roses. All the ladies of the palace would spend hours here, admiring his mother’s broad, colorful flora. Every love story he’d been forced to sit through in his studies involved the giving of flowers, mostly roses. Surely they must have some romantic currency with women. This seemed a safe way to begin expressing himself before she was turned off to his awkward stumbling forever.

All he had to do was snap them off. He’d seen his mother do it before, but when he tried to break off a stem, it proved slippery, and the sharp point of a prickle sliced open the pad of his finger. He cursed under his breath and worked it with his other hand, managing this time to snap it off lopsidedly, near the base of the flower. He picked a handful more, and each time, he cut open a new patch of his hands. He gave up after half a dozen, trying relentlessly, and breaking them all unevenly. There was no way he would be able to get the tiny, delicate prickles off, at this point.

Fed up with the flowers, with his lack of dexterity, and with the whole damned situation, he tossed them aside, onto a nearby bench, and turned sharply, seeking something to staunch the blood welling from a dozen or so cuts on his hands, but bumped head first into someone.

His mother’s gaze soothed a little of the angry fire in his chest, and waved her hands after seeing his, producing a handkerchief, which she handed to him.

“What happened here?”

Thor sat with a huff beside his flowers, and gestured to them with a jerk. “I am now bested by plants.”

Frigga took a seat across from him, the flowers between them. “Who are these for?”

“Y/N,” he answered, shortly, through clenched teeth.

His mother took up a stem and broke off a prickle skillfully. “Are you going to see her?”

“I don’t know,” Thor lamented as he pressed the handkerchief to another cut.

“Well, you’ve gone to this much trouble.” Frigga handed him a smooth-stemmed rose and took up another one as she spoke. “What is the harm?”

Thor ground his teeth. “I am nowhere near as skillful with words as Loki is. He could make a statue fall in love with him. I cannot even speak to a woman I admire.”

Frigga hummed. “As I recall, you were quite fond of the Lady Sif not a decade past.”

“That’s different, mother. Sif is a warrior. Y/N is – she’s–”

He searched for a term, but found he had nothing further, and closed his mouth with a growl. He knitted his brow closer together and frowned at the scarlet welling from his hand as he clenched it in anger.

“What makes it different?”

“I don’t know!”

SIlence fell between them as his mother disarmed each rose and scattered the prickles across the dirt behind them. She fluttered her fingers again and this time conjured a thick ribbon of deep red, tying the stems together neatly.

“I imagine she is a reasonable girl. I imparted my knowledge of speech to both of my sons, Thor. I am confident you can conduct yourself. Or, perhaps you could consult your brother.”

Go to Loki? With this? Good gods, no. He’d never hear the end of it.

His mother noticed the look of disgust on his face, and chuckled, handing him the bundle of flowers. “Perhaps not. You will never get an answer from her, Thor, unless you ask.”

Frigga pressed a kiss to her son’s hairline, and glided away. Thor stared at the roses for a moment before standing. Loki might have been right, but so was his mother.

~

For a moment, standing there, in the doorway of the smithy, with the weight of a half-dozen roses nearly crushing his chest, he considered abandoning the endeavor, at least for the time being. Y/N hadn’t noticed him, yet, lost in scribbling away in a logbook. He could turn, silently, and leave before she was any the wiser. Maybe he would talk to his brother. Maybe –

Too late.

“Oh, my– my lord!” Y/N exclaimed as she recognized him, turning from her books and dropping into a curtsy. “If you are here for your greaves, I’m afraid they’re not yet finished. I’ll be sure to pick up the pace–”

“No, lady,” he said, stopping her with a wave of a hand. “I’m sure you’re doing – they’re doing fine. I came for–” he cleared his throat. “I came for another matter.”

Y/N blinked, her gaze shifting between his hands and his face. “I’m no healer, my lord, I’m sorry–”

“No!” he barked, perhaps a little too insistently, and he felt guilty at the snap of her jaw and the widening of her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I came with something for you.”

Heart pounding, he reached inside his coat and produced the small bundle of roses. He felt silly, with bloody hands and half a dozen snapped stalks. She took them when he offered, with shy hands, looking confused.

“I’ve little skill for words,” he admitted, unable to keep his eyes in one place. “Battle does not require much speech.”

“My lord, I –”

“Thor.” he pressed, finally holding her gaze. “Please.”

“Thor, I don’t know what to say, either. This is so… sudden. I had no idea you thought of –”

“If my advance is unwelcome, I can take my leave,” he began, ready to flee.

“No,” Y/N insisted. “No, not unwelcome. Only… unexpected.”

The pause that rose between them was tense, like a bubble waiting to burst. “I should like to… see you more often.”

Y/N’s eyes nearly swallowed him whole when she looked up at him. “I am here, most days. If you would like to watch the progress of your pieces…” She trailed off, examining the flowers in her hands.

“If you… liked the roses, my mother’s garden has plenty more. Perhaps… you could choose your own? Surely they would be less mangled than these.”

She laughed, bright and slightly nervous. “Truly? I don’t have a delicate touch, either.”

The tension was eased slightly with her light jest, enough to prompt Thor to speak further. “I am sure you could avoid injury much better than I. What do you say?”

She held the roses closer to her chest and granted him a beautiful smile. “I would love to.”

Relief flooded over Thor’s shoulders. Not only did she not refuse his poor attempt at a gift, she wasn’t horrified by his stumbling. “Next time, I will call for both my greaves and the artist responsible, yes?”

“Yes,” Y/N breathed, then cleared her throat. “Yes.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, before she shifted under his gaze, breaking their eye contact. “Right. I should… finish the books for the day.”

“Of course!” Thor snapped himself out of his light stupor. “Yes. I will see you soon, good lady.”

“Goodbye, Thor.”

He reveled in her smile for another lingering moment before turning back in the direction of his solar. Maybe there was hope for him yet. By this time next week, he would be fitted with new armor, and hopefully a new lady. He’d like to see Loki insult him after that.

#thor x reader #ficmas 2017 #thor odinson #thor

[bickwrites]

Hello, I just wanted to say that I really love your writing style and how you manage to make all your characters come to life. If it's ok to ask, are you planning to write a piece on Alexander Pavos and his family? I always found him and his family to be interesting people. I understand if you're too busy but I wanted to ask.

No problem, thanks for the ask! I’m glad you’re interested in the Pavoses actually because I do intend for them to take center stage in the third Magus Verse story (which will be a long time coming…but I’m already planning it out hohoho). I also have written a little short about Alexandir and Philomel, which I’m putting below under the cut if you’re interested. ^v^

An energos’ scent stirred the air of the Consort’s Court. The heavy musk cut through the sweetness that normally suffused the air, sharp as a heated blade, but it didn’t stir to life any of Philomel Pavos’ instincts.

Indeed, instead of burning her blood and leaving her weak-kneed, it filled her with a calm reassurance. Why shouldn’t it? She recognized the sharp piney tinge to the scent instantly.

It was her brother.

So Philomel remained kneeling before the low table in the private room, her composure perfectly intact. When the door slid open, she sat further upright and put on a calm smile.

A tall man ducked through the door. He moved with the bold, sleek confidence of an energos, a jarring contrast to the elegant ministra stateliness that surrounded Philomel every day. As her brother went to kneel opposite her, the already cozy room seemed to shrink in size, barely able to contain his presence.

Ever since she was little, this was how Philomel had seen her brother - more a force of nature than a human being, with a natural gift for compelling attention wherever he went. When she was younger, she’d believed he could do anything. Now she knew better, but she still couldn’t help relaxing in his presence.

Her brother was here. He would make everything all right.

Alexandir Pavos smiled at her with the forest-green eyes they shared. “It’s been a while. Sorry I couldn’t come sooner, Mel.”

“It’s no problem,” Philomel said. “I’m glad to see you, big brother.”

A Silent Servant served them tea and delicate finger sweets, then left the siblings alone. Through the thin paper and bamboo walls, Philomel could hear the muffled sounds from the rest of the Lotus Mansion - murmuring voices, tinkling string music, the rhythmic tread of servants - but otherwise it was like she and Alexandir were in their own world. These private rooms were the only places where ministra could meet their energos relatives within the coral walls of the Consort’s Court.

Alexandir lived at the royal palace but rarely visited her; he trusted her to take care of herself, and he was quite busy with his work on the Circle of Magi besides. But he had come personally today, because the matter was just that serious.

They didn’t talk about it at first. Philomel poured cups of the fragrant jasmine tea for her brother and herself, and they nibbled at the rice flour dumplings and rosewater candies and lightly chatted about their family back in the Forestlands, her lessons, court gossip. Philomel almost let herself get drawn into the simple comfort of conversing with her brother, where she didn’t have to carefully appraise every word she said and observe for signs of subterfuge and deception.

But that wasn’t the way life worked at court. Not even between family members. Eventually, Alexandir set down his cup and looked at her with serious eyes and said, “Mel, I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what, big brother?” Philomel kept her voice soft and pleasant, showing the demure submissiveness that had been drilled in her since she had manifested, but her pulse had begun to race. At last, they were cutting to the chase.

“I had no idea….” Sighing, Alexandir raked a hand through his wavy golden hair. “Honestly, that capricious little prince. To think he’d reject you like that - he has no manners.”

Yes, indeed. Life at court, unpredictable as it might be, still followed a basic rhythm. All the players were in tacit agreement of the rules. Until the prince had gone and broken them.

The entire court was still reeling from his announcement a week ago. If Philomel thought too hard about it, the shock stabbed her heart anew, sharp as a bolt of lightning - and just as unexpected. Ever since then, she hadn’t been able to escape the whispers, the furtive glances, the eyes that looked at her with pity.

Philomel couldn’t stand it. She was a Pavos, the most powerful House in Senero. None should pity her.

She kept her rage to herself, of course. It was unseemly for a ministra to display such forward emotions. She must always be pleasant, gentle, kind. All her teachers had taught her over the years. Charm was the weapon of a ministra, and she would use it to ensnare the prince’s heart and advance the Pavos cause. This was her duty to her family, and Philomel had never resented it. Why should she?

Ever since she had manifested as a ministra, ever since her mama had braided the first peacock hairpin into her hair and given her her first set of cosmetics, everyone had told her the same. One day, she would be Royal Consort.

If she was sweet and charming enough. If she practiced her wood magic and became the strongest and most skilled. If she danced with grace and sang with beauty. She would stand above all the ministra and the prince would only have eyes for her. Philomel had never envisioned another destiny for herself.

Often she imagined her bonding ceremony - ministra always did, and many of them imagined bonding with the prince themselves. But while her fellows fantasized, Philomel looked upon them with smug pity because she knew they were just fantasies, while for her it would be reality. It would be her standing beside the prince clad in the peacock robes of Pavos House, the most beautiful ministra in the palace, the most adored, the most fortunate. They would cheer and sing, courtiers, foreigners, and commoners alike, and it would all be because of her.

Now…now it would never come to pass. And she was angry, yes, even though it was unseemly, but more than angry she was disappointed. In her brother, her parents, her tutors, for their blithe reassurances and unshaking faith in her - but above all in herself.

She had tried her best, but it wasn’t good enough.

“Mel.” Alexandir’s voice snapped her back to reality. He leaned across the table toward her, his eyes shining with concern. “Don’t be so depressed now. It’s not over. The prince may have made his decision, but he’s not the only one who gets to choose. The matter of who he bonds with affects all of Senero. Do you think the rest of his family and courtiers will allow his selfish decision to go forward unchallenged?”

“No, big brother,” Philomel said, soft and dutiful.

“That’s right.” Alexandir spoke with increasing energy. “The royal family has always bonded into the Six Great Houses. We are the very foundation of Senero. The Queen and Consort understand this. How could they countenance their heir tying himself to a family of fish merchants? It’s absurd. I have already raised my objections with Her Majesty and Lord Hazan, and I plan to speak to His Highness about it as well.”

“Even so, the decision is the prince’s,” Philomel murmured, gazing at her faint reflection in her half-drained teacup.

“He must take his family’s input in consideration,” Alexandir said. “Mel, have heart. We haven’t lost yet. We just need a new avenue of attack.”

He was reassuring her, yet to Philomel’s dismay it didn’t banish the discontent swirling inside her. Alexandir had not brought it up yet - indeed, it seemed he was deliberately avoiding the subject - but they both knew the real reason why the prince had rejected her. In spite of all her hard work, in spite of the path the Pavos family had so carefully prepared for her.

And it angered Philomel that she’d never once suspected, not until it had been too late. Yes, Aramy Basquiale came from the most insignificant of insignificant houses - but there remained the crucial fact that he was an aether magus. The first to arrive in the palace in generations.

Through her multiple dates and interviews with the prince, Philomel had come to understand one thing about him very well. Even if she had never met him, she would know from the rumors alone. He was obsessed with strength. Obsessed with it, and insecure over his lack of it, and Pavos had hoped to exploit this fact to put themselves in an advantageous position once they tied Philomel to him.

They’d been outwitted by Aramy Basquiale’s very existence. Pavos was powerful, yes, but not in the way that mattered most to the prince - the way that could most help him. Money, political power, influence - what did that matter compared to raw magical potential?

Philomel was a strong magus. She prided herself for this. How could she be a Pavos otherwise? From the moment she’d manifested her aura, controlling plants had come as easily to her as breathing. Now, even unbound as she was, she had already learned how to grow trees in quick-time from a single seed. It was only right for the one who would someday be the most powerful ministra in Senero.

When she was little and still living in the Pavos estate, her tutors had rhapsodized about the prince’s skill with water aura, how it would complement her wood aura perfectly. They would be able to cast the strongest spells together, his water feeding her wood. But when she’d met the prince, she came to understand the truth. The prince could barely summon a single raindrop. His strength would not be able to augment hers in any appreciable matter. She would be the stronger one in the relationship. It might be unnatural, but Philomel had told herself it was all right, because it ensured she would hold the advantage. And through that advantage, she would help Pavos House.

But of course if the prince found a way to give himself the power he so desired, he would seize it in a heartbeat. How come it had never once crossed Philomel’s mind?

“I should have seen it, big brother,” she found herself saying. “I knew all along that Lord Basquiale was an aether magus, but I never even suspected  - ”

“That’s right, it all boils down to this Lord Basquiale,” Alexandir said, drumming his fingertips on the tabletop. “I should have kept a more careful eye on him…I met him a few times at dances, and he impressed me with his unusal appearance, but he never stood out to me otherwise. He always seemed like the shy, retiring type. But you surely must know him better than me.”

The worst thing was there was no reproach in Alexandir’s voice; he wasn’t blaming her. It didn’t make Philomel feel any better. “I don’t, really. He was like that in the Consort’s Court, too. He kept to himself. He didn’t seem interested in forming alliances with powerful families. I don’t think I’ve ever exchanged more than five words with him.”

In retrospect, it was amazing how well Aramy Basquiale had managed to hide himself, slipping away so inconspicuously into the background that sometimes Philomel even forgot he existed. Even if he was from a house far beneath her notice, he ought to stand out by virtue of his unusual appearance and even more unusual aura. Instead, Philomel’s main impression of the man was that he tended to spend his time in the library and was a decent nature painter. He’d won one or two poetry competitions, once turned down a bonding offer from Saunt House, and that was about the limit of Philomel’s knowledge of him.

Now it was obvious what he’d been doing. Cloaking himself in innocuousness so as to not appear a threat, only to swoop in at the final moment and claim his prize in a way that ensured the prince would never be able to refuse.

He had outplayed her, he had done it perfectly, and she didn’t know if she could ever recover. She was a Pavos. Destined for greatness. The perfect ministra.

Silly of her. She’d allowed herself to forget. The perfect ministra wasn’t the most beautiful, the most graceful, the most noble, the most magically skilled. The perfect ministra was the one who supported their energos the best. Philomel could never do it; she would always outshine the weak prince.

But a ministra whose aura by its very nature augmented other auras might well make the perfect ministra.

Philomel’s hands started to shake. She mentally cursed her lack of composure and folded them in her lap, hidden away beneath the table so Alexandir wouldn’t see. Even so, the concern on his face was obvious.

She didn’t want him to look at her like that - him, least of all. She’d always wanted him to think of her as capable, one worthy of carrying the future of Pavos House in her hands.

“You know I’m here for you, Mel,” Alexandir said gently. “I will speak to the prince, the Queen, Lord Hazan, the Consort, the vizier - whoever I need to. I’ll learn more about Lord Basquiale, I’ll find a way to defeat him. As long as we don’t give up, the future is bright. I’m your big brother. I promise, I will give you the crown that you deserve.”

“Thank you, big brother.” Philomel lowered her head in a brief, respectful bow. Funny how his words left her completely cold. If anything, the doubt only gnawed a bigger hole into her heart.

She already understood that she had lost. Alexandir didn’t know the prince like she did - he didn’t see the gaping patheticness inside him, that desperate, floundering desire to prove himself, to be strong. It had always disgusted Philomel, in a faint way, listening to him ramble about his prowess with swords or how he was practicing his rain-summoning spells. The prince should not be like this, she always thought even as she nodded and smiled and flattered him. He should be so assured of his skill that he has no need to speak of it.

Carnelio Azed was nothing like the fairytale prince she had imagined back in her innocent days at the Pavos estate. Maybe he looked the part. Tall, handsome, with intense dark blue eyes that made Philomel feel as though she were falling into the ocean - but when he spoke it was only weak and pathetic words that oozed out. When he smiled it was odious and false. When he kissed her hand it was clumsy, devoid of passion.

When he talked it was only about himself. When he gave gifts he was blustering, overly proud of his magnaminity. The prince of Philomel’s imagination was calm, brave, dashing, gracious. He made her feel safe and protected, loved and cherished, the perfect epitome of energos dominance.

Philomel knew such a prince had probably never existed in real life, but Carnelio Azed was perhaps as far from it as a person could get. She told herself she was fine with it. This was not for her, it was for Pavos House. Even if she loathed him, she would still become Royal Consort. This thought got her through countless awkward dates with him.

Yet even as she dreamed of her bonding day, she never let herself imagine what would come after. Their bonded life. It was too sickening a prospect to face. Most likely it would be just like their courtship, as empty and insincere. She would have to watch every word, take care not to tread upon his fragile ego, while he gave absolutely nothing to her. And she was fine with that, really, except in her heart, she…foolish. Childish. Alexandir would make fun of her for it.

But she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life manipulating her energos. She wanted what her more romantic fellows sighed and pined for. To let herself follow the energos’ lead, to give in to his command, to fall into his arms and never have to think about anything ever again besides being by his side. To experience true submission. How wonderful it would feel. How freeing.

And now her life with the prince might never come to be, and…Philomel did not want to admit it. Especially not with her brother in the room, so determined to continue fighting for her. But a shameful selfish part of her, buried deep inside, was glad that she would not have to bond with the Crown Prince.

Weak. Wrong. She was a proud Pavos and a Pavos could not simply concede like that.

Alexandir reached across the table, and Philomel reached for his hand, and when his warm strong fingers squeezed hers, she squeezed back just as hard. “I promise,” he whispered. “Mel, I won’t stop fighting for you.”

“I know you won’t, big brother,” Philomel said, and she knew he meant it, and she was grateful, but it didn’t stop the faint pulse of sadness somewhere deep in her heart.

Was Alexandir fighting for her, or for Pavos House? They were one and the same, she reminded herself. And it wasn’t like he really knew what she thought of the prince. She had never revealed it - it would be ungrateful. Undutiful. Not after everything her family had done to get her into this position, and not after everything she had done for their sake.

She’d never be free from this, not as long as she was a Pavos. Perhaps for a Pavos ministra, there could never be true submission.

It didn’t matter. She didn’t need an energos to submit to. Not as long as she had a brother who would protect her and care for her. The bonds of blood were thicker than anything else, even the bond of magic.

“For Pavos House,” she said, “we won’t ever give up.”

“Of course not.” Alexandir winked. “That’s what Pavoses do. No little Basquiale will stand in our way.”

They smiled at each other above their clasped hands, and though Philomel’s doubts and fears didn’t disappear, they felt further away than ever.

#magus verse #alexandir pavos #side story