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i-did · 3 years

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if you’ve addressed this before I apologize but what do you think of claims that Kevin is a poc coded character and his supposed “mistreatment” is fandom racism?

I mean Nora definitely intended for Kevin to be white while writing him, as she did with all other characters who races are not stated as otherwise. And like, I think I’ve seen the post you're talking about and what they describe is not what coding actually means.* There also isn't any textual basis for Kevin to be a POC besides Wymack, who people often see as non-white due to the discomfort over his 90’s tribal tattoos. IDC if people HC Kevin as a POC, but usually he’s just vaguely tan in the way people make Neil. You’ll see a “The Rock” FC for Wymack, but I haven't seen anything that actually goes beyond that. I’ve seen fic’s actively treat Dan, Matt, and Renee racistly, but Neil and Kevin get the same “vaguely tan” treatment and therefore avoid it. Nicky and Riko are different since they're canonly POC and not fanonly, so they fall into a different area.

I would also say Kevin is a pretty common fandom favorite too? So I would disagree with that claim as well. Most people I talk to their favorite is either Andrew or Kevin it seems, then like a few Aaron lovers, and my personal favorite is Neil. These are all canonly white main characters–and are largely still depicted and treated as such. Dan, Matt, Nicky, and Renee are all larger characters than Jean or Jeremy, and besides Nicky, are intended to be white but the fandom decided weren't. So Dan, Matt and Renee all get pushed to the sidelines over favorable ‘white’ characters. Fandom’s racism actually has such wild layers tbh, same with its misogyny, but that’s another thing.

I do think with a lot of the characters in AFTG adding headcanons making them POC can add an entire new layer to the canon and recontextualize scenes and struggles which would make some themes a lot stronger–I do this with most of the foxes in fact.

But Kevin to me, if I do HC him as a POC, he is going to be white-passing and raised essentially believing he is white until he learns otherwise.

Kevin to me is very peak white guy. I love him as a character, but book 1 he shows very typical white guy arrogance. He comes to a team and bosses them around while also dismissing them in the same breath. He believes he is owed something from the people around him, and they will blindly follow him and do what he says. They should always listen to him, and he automatically knows what is best–better than Dan. This feeling of “what I ask will be given, and I am above them” is definitely due to the raven mentality of everyone is inferior, but I’m sure there were racist raven recruits along the way, and Kevin is usually HC to be brown and not East Asian/Japanese, which experiences a very different type of racism. I believe if Kevin was a brown MOC… he would act differently.

Personally, I see white-passing Kevin discovering he’s not actually white as much more narratively interesting and fitting. His mom is Irish, and it's very rare for a mixed kid to be perceived by society to look more related to their white parent than their brown parent–unless of course they're white-passing. And since the fandom usually has Wymack be a MOC, then it would make sense for this green-eyed light skin baby that never is outside but when he is he just kinda tans but is still light skinned, and think “yeah I believe her when she said he’s not my kid.” I also think it could fit Kevin’s arc of realizing Exy isn't all there is to him, in fact there is a whole culture and a father waiting for him to connect with, that he didn’t even know was there ‘as an option.’ it gives him something else to tack onto his identity as well that he had no idea about and was sheltered from.

I’m still not solid on my own HC for Wymack and Kevin and if he will be white-passing or just white yet, but I play around with the idea sometimes for sure. But I don’t ever see him as visibly a POC. He feels no need to prove himself like Thea does and the media is shown to go easier on him as well as the foxes. The foxes are annoyed with him, but they ignore it, and the media forgives him easily and fawns over him, telling him he’s handsome and talented. Kevin from an outside perspective is very privileged in a way that parallels with Allison a lot actually. Who was based off of Paris Hilton– disowned wild child of a rich family that owns Hilton hotels, struggled with the public eye and is credited as the original influencer.

*But yeah POC coding isn’t really a term like queer-coding is. Queerness is something that must be unstated for various reasons, which led to coding for either vilification or because there was no other way for it to be shown. But media dives pretty hard into ‘othering’ with POC, doing it’s best to show all the ways whiteness is different from ‘the rest’ by playing up stereotypes or extra emphasis on non-white features. I mean the first ever ‘talkie’ or modern day movie, had blackface in it, (the jazz singer). There is no perceived societal need for ‘POC coding’. There is such thing as ‘Jew coding’ however, which again is used for vilification and dates back pretty far in depictions of devils in churches in Europe. Kevin isn't shown as a ‘gay pervert’ like queer-coding does, or ‘dark curly hair and a strong nose, with his hands rubbing together’ like Jew-coding does. POC aren’t treated with coding but rather a full dive into minstrel depictions instead.

Kevin is shown as sympathetic but also struggling, he is a victim, but he is also harsh. He is struggling with addiction that gets enabled by the other people around him who don’t know a better way to help. He has an arc, he learns to grow, he gets the tattoo, he talks to Wymack, he fights with Dan, he speaks to Jean, he scores the last point on the winning game, he learns to stand up to Riko. He develops in the books, and is one of the 3 main characters, Neil, Andrew, and Kevin.

I think the fandom definitely focuses mostly on Andrew and Neil, which is unsurprising since they're the main pairing and get the most development and attention by the author as well. But the nature of fandom and fanfiction typically is to have all the background characters act as overly invested props to get the main paring ending up together. That's just kinda the way fanfiction typically goes. Kevin still largely is a character with his own thing going on, often recovery or dating other people or grumbling in the background with his own thoughts, in fics a lot more than any of the other characters in AFTG who aren't Andrew and Neil. I don’t think Kevin gets excessively ‘mistreated’ either, I think he gets a lot of the similar flattening out of his character we see a lot in general in fandom, whether its for a joke post or a fic.

#ask #anti semitism tw #racism tw #homophobia tw #Stereotyping tw #mailob #fandom culture #fandom psychology

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padfootagain · 3 years

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A Very Rose Mistake (VI)

Part 6: How You Almost Did

Here I come with a new chapter for this series!!! I'm sorry the posting schedule is a little bit more hectic than usual, but depression is kicking my arse pretty badly, and it's harder to write then. BUT here is a new chapter!! Things are… evolving. A lot of this chapter is the flashback, because it's an important scene.

I hope you like this chapter, and don't forget to leave a little comment if you read, cause that really helps motivating me into writing, and I need that extra piece of motivation now more than ever, sadly.

No warnings here, it's pretty fluffy :)

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

Word Count : 4283

Holmes Chapel, 2010

"So… do you have everything?"

"Yeah, it's all ready."

"Did you take your inhaler? I won't be here to save your distracted arse this time."

"I do have it. Thanks, Lambkin."

"Fuck you, Chuckaboo."

"Oi!"

You laughed as you helped Harry carry his suitcase down the stairs. He was leaving to take a chance at X-factor. It was already crazy that he got through the first round of auditions, but now he had to travel across the country to start the first steps of the show.

Whenever the two of you talked about it though, he insisted that he would be back in the blink of an eye. He hadn't even expected to successfully get two 'yes' from the jury during the auditions, and now his purpose was to learn as much as he could from the experience, and enjoy it while it would last. It was a crazy adventure, but one he was certain would simply end in a flicker. He had asked you to get all the lessons for him that he would miss, so he wouldn't struggle too much when he would come back in a couple of weeks.

And to be honest, you thought the same about the whole thing as he did. It wasn't that you didn't believe in him enough, because you did. If there was one person that you trusted and believed in on this Earth, it was Harry. And you had heard him sing before, you knew he had talent, even if it was a little raw for now. You did not doubt though that he was full of potential, and with some hard work, could definitely stand a chance. But he was also a sixteen-year-old boy, from this little English town you called home where nothing happened, and he was your best friend. You had known each other since you were five. It was almost impossible for you to imagine him as anything else but the goofy teenager he was when around you. So, a professional singer? It was improbable up to a hilarious degree.

Still, you were nervous and sad at the sight of Harry checking the content of his backpack one last time, checking if he had everything. He would be leaving early the next morning. It was the last evening you would share before he was off for an unknown period of time, and even if you both assumed it would be but a short one, it was still scary to think about how you didn't know when you would next see him. Maybe it was simply because it had never happened before, you guessed so, at the very least. Anything unknown was scary, after all.

Harry was trying to keep a calm façade, but you were far from a fool, and knew perfectly well that he was, in reality, terrified about the whole endeavour. After all, he was going to be leaving his home for some time. Any sixteen-year-old would find the mere thought terrifying.

After you brought all of his bags to the hallway by the front door, ready for his journey the next day, you settled for a while in the kitchen, where you prepared some toasts and sandwiches for your dinner. Anne was working late, and would not be coming home for another hour or so, which meant that Harry and you could enjoy some quality time together for a little longer.

You both laughed as you almost burned down the kitchen preparing the toasts, both of you pretending for that time that everything was normal. It was almost as if you had both silently came to the agreement that for that evening, while the two of you were alone cooking in the kitchen, his journey of the next day was but a reverie, and instead, the next morning would simply be the beginning of a normal day.

You talked about video games, and TV shows you found funny but stupid, and school. You couldn't really describe why talking with Harry was so different to talking to anyone else. It was just so easy. Fluent. It came without an effort, and it seemed that the two of you could have been left there for hours on your own and would still have found some things to say to each other, some new topic to discuss. You had always attributed that trait of his to the fact that he was your best friend, and had been so for such a long time. Knowing him so well meant that there wasn't much you didn't dare to do in front of him. You weren't afraid to be yourself when he was around, never had been.

And for a long time, you reckoned that it was simply explained by you seeing a brother in him. A twin of sort that you had never had. But as puberty started its work, and your mind embraced new possible explanations and understood new kinds of relationships, you wondered if a brotherly bond was really what united so closely the two of you.

Because you weren't sure that it was all there was to it, really. Maybe, it wasn't the reason why you didn't like his girlfriends. Maybe it wasn't why you were so sad to say goodbye tonight. Maybe it wasn't why you trusted him so blindly all the time. Why you always forgave him.

But you were young, and you weren't quite sure yet of what you felt meant. Maybe you were just trying to figure yourself out, and were making a fuss of nothing.

Or maybe, Harry meant something else to you than a brother.

All you knew was that when the conversation finally quietened, slowing down to reach a full stop that filled the room with silence, his departure on the tip of both your tongues once more, you were sad and afraid like you had never been before.

"We should wash the dishes," Harry threw one last attempt at avoiding the floating threat hovering in the comfortable silence. One last ammunition used to keep his fear at bay for a little longer, and instead, bathe in your presence for a little longer.

He couldn't really explain how he felt about you. It wasn't something he had felt with the few girls he had been with before, and it wasn't either a level of intimacy that he had ever reached with any other of his friends. You were in that special box in his heart, that had only your name on it, and no one else's. More than a friend, but not a girlfriend either. Somehow, you were more than that to him. You were family to him. But he didn't see you like a sister either. Maybe he had for a while, but it slowly yet irremediably changed along the past few years. He wasn't sure to understand what that box your name lived in inside his heart was, but he was okay with that, for now. Sixteen was young after all, to understand matters of the heart.

For now, he simply wanted to be with you whenever he could, and that was enough.

He started to wash the plates in the sink, while you grabbed a clothe and started to dry the cutlery.

You didn't notice the glances he threw towards your direction, and he didn't notice the way your eyes lingered on his features as if to carve them into memory either. It was an unspoken, halfway type of zone you had settled in. It was hard to escape it now.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" you asked, breaking the long silence that had settled in the kitchen, broken only by the distant murmur of cars passing by the street, and the water running from the faucet.

Had it been anyone else, Harry would have probably lied and pretended that he was perfectly fine.

But then, it was you, standing in that special little box of yours, and despite how fragile it made him feel, he answered you anyway.

"Yeah… I'm a bit nervous."

"I mean, I reckon it's normal to be so."

"Yeah… I mean, it's all new and I don't really know what will happen. And… huh… I think… It's gonna be hard to be away, I guess. I think I'll miss my mum a lot. And… and you too."

You stared at him for a moment, yellow photons from the lamp above your heads getting caught in the wild curls of his hair. He seemed a little lost. He was just a boy, after all.

You nudged him, trying to make him feel better.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure you'll be alright. Besides, you'll have fun, and make new friends over there, I'm sure. You will barely notice I'm not here."

He frowned, looking hurt at your statement, and you wondered why.

"You really think I would forget about you?" he asked, his voice a little too low, a little too deep, a little too fragile.

You shook your head, but he could see in the way you fidgeted with the cloth that you were not completely earnest with him.

"Of course not. I know you won't."

He turned off the water, the silence becoming deafening while he took his time to turn fully towards you, drying his hands on his worn-out jeans. Meanwhile, you were drying a plate, or at least, faking to do so, for there was no more water to sweep away across the porcelain. But it was easier to rub the white plate than to look at your friend at that moment.

"Hey, look at me."

When you stubbornly kept your eyes on this plate you kept on drying, Harry gently rested his hands upon yours, successfully interrupting your movements.

"Y/N. Please."

You let him take the plate away from you, putting it away before taking your chin in between his fingers to force you to turn to him. He wasn't surprised to find withheld tears glimmering in your eyes, yet the sight broke his heart all the same.

He couldn't see you cry. Never had been able to. He would have done anything to make you smile, and it had been so since the two of you were five.

He gave you a tender, reassuring smile.

"You're stupid sometimes, you know that?"

You frowned at that, taken aback. If anything, you weren't expecting that kind of response from him. But it wasn't all that he had to say.

"I could never forget you, you dummy. You're my best friend. You're… You're special to me. And whatever happens, I will never ever forget about you. Okay?"

You looked down at your feet, fleeing his green eyes that seemed to pierce right through all the pieces of armoury you had built around your soul. You nodded, slowly, your throat too tight to speak. But you weren't so worried anymore.

"You're not gonna forget about me either, are you?" he asked, his voice fragile again too.

You smiled one more time, looking up to find yourself trapped in the green hues of his irises.

"Now, you're being the silly one. Of course not. Besides, you'll be back in two weeks, tops. You're not half as charming as you think you are."

"Aren't I?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a ridiculous way, making you laugh.

"No, you're not."

As you both fell quiet again, you suddenly seemed hype-aware of Harry's hold on your chin, that hadn't wavered throughout your exchange. He brushed his thumb across the soft skin, making you gasp.

And all of a sudden, there was a shift between the two of you. The air across the room seemed to be filled with electricity, growing denser, and maybe it was why both of you found it harder to breathe. Or maybe it was the way you both lost yourselves in each other's eyes in a way you never had before.

You caught him as he glimpsed down at your lips. You noticed the way his eyes travelled across your mouth, as if he was hesitating, weighing his options. You saw his Adam's apple jumping as he struggled to swallow the lump that was growing in his throat. When his gaze flickered back to meet yours though, both of you could barely breathe at all, your two hearts stomping under your ribcages.

His hold on your chin had become more of a caress than a hold: gentle, brushing of fingertips against your skin, giving you back complete freedom of your movements. Yet, you didn't want to move away at all.

And when Harry leaned closer to you, it was your turn to glance at his lips, watching the two lines barely parted fall towards yours. And when you realized what he was doing, you stopped breathing altogether.

Because Harry was about to kiss you.

But then he stopped, merely an inch or so away, his breath fanning and brushing your lips, warm and staggering, uncertain through uneven pants. And he was absolutely sure that he had never felt anything as intense as this moment in his entire short life.

But he stopped, because it was you he was about to kiss. His best friend. And even if you lived in that special box in his heart, even if, to him, maybe it meant that you were more than just a friend to him, you were way too important for him to take any uncalculated risk. So instead of closing the gap between your mouths, he stood still, in his kitchen under the yellowish light of the lamp, fingers still a little wet from washing the dishes, or maybe it was more because of how nervous he was. He needed to give you a chance to step back and stop him.

So, he blinked a few times, staring at your eyes with a silent question in his green irises. To which you answered by leaning closer to him too.

So… you didn't want him to stop?

He moved his hand up your jaw, cupping your cheek instead, closing his eyes and focusing on how warm the air leaving your lungs was against his face, breaths mingling together halfway between your parted lips.

And you were about to meet when the front door of Harry's house loudly opened.

"Harry! Y/N! I'm home!"

Both you and Harry jumped away from each other as Anne was ruffling in the hallway, probably taking off her shoes and coat.

In the kitchen, you both shied away. The moment had passed, broken, and you both knew that there wasn't going to be any other moment for you to be alone before Harry would leave.

Harry looked over his shoulder, and before his mother would appear, he hurried to take your hand in his.

He seemed frightened, and a little frantic. A little desperate too, still struggling to catch his breath.

"We'll talk about it when I come back."

You stared at him intensely, and he took your other hand in his as well.

"It's a promise. We'll talk about what just happened when I come back, okay? Cause… that… that was a thing. Right?"

"Yeah… yeah I think it… was a thing."

He struggled to swallow, stuttering a little as he let down his armour before you completely, and with a shaky voice asked one more question.

"Will you… would you wait for me?"

You gave him a reassuring smile, and to his hands you gifted a tender squeeze.

"I will. I'll wait for you."

II.

Loch Lomond, 2020

Harry was pretty when he slept.

Not that he was ever not pretty, you reckoned that Harry was a very handsome man in general. But there was something soft in the way he looked when he slept, peaceful, that you really loved.

Maybe it was his parted lips, or the soft sound of air leaving his lungs in a perfectly regular rhythm. The occasional little crease between his brow that appeared and vanished at the rhythm of his dreams. Or the way his eyelids trembled a little sometimes before growing still again, eyelashes perfectly bent in the most graceful curve barely disturbed by the movement at all. Or perhaps it was how messy his hair became as they rubbed against the pillow.

But you could hardly deny that the main reason was that Harry always grabbed whatever he could during the night and held onto it for dear life throughout the rest of the night. To ensure that he would not disturb your sleep – and knowing Harry, probably also because he was worried it would make you uncomfortable – he had hold onto a pillow for the first evening, making sure that he would not end up curled around you instead. And it had worked, the two of you waking up peacefully on each side of the bed.

But not today.

This morning, you opened your eyes to find that the reason why you felt so warm and snuggled up was because you were safely tucked in Harry's side, his arms wrapped around you and his nose almost brushing yours, face resting at the edge of his own pillow, legs tangled in a mess of limbs. A quick glance across the bed revealed that the pillow he was hugging when you went to bed the previous night was nowhere to be seen. You guessed that Harry had dropped it to the floor during the night, turned around, probably wearing across his features a grumpy little pout as he tossed and turned while still mostly asleep, until he found your form sleeping soundly on the other side of the mattress. And then, well, the rest was easy to guess given your current position.

There was a little voice in your head that kept on telling you to pull away. That you should have felt uneasy with your current position. And had it been anyone but Harry, yes, you guessed that you would have been uncomfortable right now and would have freed yourself with little regard for the other person's sleep. But the thing was, it was Harry.

It was Harry all cuddled up around you, holding you close, and you didn't feel uncomfortable at all. You felt safe and warm and taken care of. Because it was Harry holding you. Harry who had always been here for you, since your early childhood. You felt so safe with him all the time after all, this morning waking up in his arms wasn't different. It was safe, the same way you always felt whenever he was around.

It was barely dawn and the orange light of the rising sun bathed the room a colourful hue. It was still quite dark, despite the deep orange shades of the beams licking at the walls. Particles of light were caught in his wild curls, brown tainted with orange, and you spent long minutes studying the changes in the colours, the way the light made his cheeks look a little pinker, the way it seemed to hug his jawline, and was left stranded across his eyelashes and the stubble that coloured his skin. It took all of your strengths to refrain yourself from running your fingers across the swallows tattooed on his upper chest, but you were too scared of waking him if you did so. You couldn't help but stare at them though, the black ink rising and falling with his regular breathing. He was still wearing his cross necklace around his neck, the gold reflecting the morning light. It wasn't the first time that you saw him with a bare chest, and it wasn't the first either that he hugged you without a shirt on. But it didn't stop you from shivering in the best way when he moved his arm around you ever so slightly, his bare skin sliding across your own bare arms. Because you were trapped in his arms, your arms folded between your two bodies, your hands were pressed against your chest. But now that your eyes were settling on his skin again, a little tanned and looking so invitingly smooth, you really couldn't summon enough willpower to not reach across the inches-long gap between your hand and his chest, and you gently rested your palm against his heart. You could feel the organ beating under his skin and muscles, little rhythm pulsing through your skin. Regular, soothing, safe. Just like Harry.

After a long while staring at him, with a smile across your lips you hadn't even noticed, your gaze moved across the room to settle upon the window instead, and you watched the quiet waters of the loch as it reflected the bright gold and orange of the sky. With the trees alongside the shores also covered with autumnal hues, it looked as if someone had painted the entire scene in shades of ochre. It was peaceful, a landscape still barely awake, that only the wind carrying freshly fallen skeleton leaves seemed able to disturb.

You didn't know for how long you had remained like this, staring at the landscape outside, safely tugged in Harry's warmth, when he finally started to stir and wake up. You turned to him again just in time to catch his eyes fluttering open, green irises appearing in the early morning light that fell upon your face instantly, as if they had been looking for you as a reflex. A bright smile appeared on his lips at the sight of your dishevelled and freshly awaken form in his arms.

"Morning," he mumbled, sleep making his voice deeper than usual, raw and warm.

"Good morning," you answered with a smile of your own.

He snuggled closer to you, until you were tugged under his chin, so he could bury his face in your hair, inhaling the addicting fragrance of your shampoo.

You were so warm against him. He could feel your hand pressed to his chest, and the mere touch was enough to set his whole body on fire. Your smell was reassuring, so reassuring, like the scent of something familiar, the scent of an old memory. And he felt so safe like this, with you in his arms. Invincible. Yes, that was the word. He felt invincible, like nothing bad could ever happen while he held you as close as he did now.

Why hadn't he done that sooner? It felt amazing.

His eyes snapped open when the thought finished to form in his mind.

Why hadn't he done that sooner? Because you were just a friend.

He quickly unwrapped his arms from around you, pushing himself away and in his haste to put distance between your two bodies, falling from the bed and onto the wooden floor and the pillow that had grown cold after he had lost it during the night. He let out a loud 'ouch', and when you peered beyond the bed, Harry was rubbing his arse cheek through his sweatpants. And you couldn't stop yourself from laughing at him.

"You alright down there?"

"Oh shut up!" he fought back, looking all pouty and grumpy, and you found the sight so ridiculously adorable that you had to laugh to stop yourself from melting instead.

"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?" you asked a little more seriously.

"My butt and my ego will be equally bruised by the incident for a few days," he replied, but he couldn't refrain a smile of his own as the situation was rather hilarious.

You laughed at that, but grew silent again when he finally looked up at you. He seemed uncomfortable, running a hand in his hair. Embarrassed, even. And for some reason, it hurt to see him react like this.

"I… I'm sorry."

"About?"

"About… how we woke up," he apologized, stumbling on his words and stuttering a little. "I… I must have lost my pillow during the night."

"I had figured that much."

"I… I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You didn't. It's okay."

He gave you a hopeful stare.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," you nodded. "I mean, you were just hugging me, not much to say about it."

Nothing much to say about it? Then why was your heart still beating this fast just thinking about it then?

"I… you sure you're okay?"

You rolled your eyes at him.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's fine."

"Oh. Okay."

Harry had to admit that he was surprised that you were taking this so… well. As if it didn't have any meaning at all. When he had woken up cuddling you, holding you as close as he could.

As he finally stumbled back to his feet, he had to admit that he was not just surprised, he was also a little disappointed. Because he didn't take the situation as lightly as you did, and that was because…

He pushed the thought away before it could finish forming in his mind. He didn't need to think about this at all. It was all something from the past. He was over it. Had been for a while. No need to think of it again.

"Right. Well, still, I'm sorry."

"You were asleep, it's alright."

"You should have woken me up."

"I… I was barely awake myself, hadn't really processed what was going on yet."

It was a lie, but he seemed to buy it.

"Oh… okay."

"Besides, I've noticed by now how clingy you can be!" you joked, making him chuckle.

"Right… uhm… I'm gonna go take a shower, and then we can go grab a bite for breakfast, yeah?"

"Sure, you can take the shower first."

"Thanks."

And indeed, Harry was grateful that you granted him access to the bathroom first. Because he could hide how much he was blushing in there.

***********************************************************

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#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #event #4700 followers #prompts #imagine #series #harry styles series

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land-of-classpects-and-analysis · 3 years

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Knight of Hope

There will always be a calm after the storm. No matter how dark today may feel, the sun will always rise again. Justice will prevail. Your life is only one of hundreds of millions - you are an experience waiting to happen. There are countless quotes created by some of the brightest minds designed to be inspirational, motivational, and hopeful. However, there are just as many minds who made these quotes that dwelled in more melancholy, darker, fatigued places in their life. What does it mean, though, to have a sense of Hope so deeply ingrained within one’s own chest and heart, if you do not find yourself worthy of wielding such a powerful thing? What do any of these quotes mean to someone who is aware, who knows, who has been told these same words almost their entire life, and is sick of it? What does any of it mean to someone like the Knight of Hope - one who has all the Hope in the world, the best moral compass, a bright and shining beacon of promises for justice and faith, but has yet to ever see any good come out of it? It means nothing, that’s what, because in the Knight of Hope’s eyes nothing beneficial has ever managed to be born from their Hope. They have saved no lives, they have not inspired anyone, and they have reaped no harvest from the seeds they have tried their best to sow. To the Knight of Hope, it’s all just words, and blasphemy, and foolishness. To the Knight of Hope, their Aspect is just another headache for them to endure in their day to day life.

The Knight of Hope is one who holds a great and complex relationship with their Aspect. They can’t bear to even think of a world without Hope, without order, faith, loyalty and conviction, and yet whenever they try their best to use their Aspect for good, all they are met with is scorn and judgement from their peers. Goody two-shoes, bootlicker, teacher’s pet, golden child, if there is a nickname to describe someone who tries their best to reinforce the rules and system created, then the Knight of Hope has most definitely been called it. It is not that the Knight of Hope may particularly agree with all of the rules set forth, but it is a game they and their peers have been forced to partake in. They would rather be quicker to accept damnation than allow for a lost, ignorant soul to be caught breaking the rules and thus being reprimanded for it. However, while the Knight of Hope may have good intentions for enforcing such a set of rules, one of the biggest things that would come to eat away at them is the hatred from the people they so desperately wish to save. What the Knight of Hope needs to realize is that, sometimes, people do not wish to be saved, but instead would rather become hurt by the system - the game - they were so unjustly forced to take part in, if only so they can feel a sense of freedom. Over time, as the Knight of Hope would find more and more loneliness, hateful stares, judgemental gossip and whispers, something in the Knight would become bent and twisted. The Knight of Hope would come to realize that, perhaps it isn’t them being led into a life of isolation, but rather their Aspect.

It is from this moment in time that the Knight of Hope’s very own faith would come to falter, sway, and lean. The more they would think about it - their Aspect and their relationship with it - the more they would realize that it couldn’t possibly be the Knight’s fault for being put under such intense scorn. No, it was their Aspect that was truly holding them back. After all, almost every single time they would try to help and save someone from being reprimanded by the system in which they all played a part in, all the Knight would be met with is their own form of a slap on the wrist or a paddling. Maybe, just maybe, they have been playing on the wrong side of history all along, and should instead lean more towards the rules that everyone else seems to want to play within. While deep down the Knight of Hope may feel their Aspect rocking and writhing at this foolish conclusion, it would already be far too late for the Knight to go back from this point onward. They will have already sworn themself to a facade - one in which they do not care for the rules made by society, by any type of government, but instead will now only play by the rules of the people around them, if only so they can finally fit in. By doing so, the Knight has inadvertently created a border between them and their Aspect, leaving them unable to truly become attuned with it.

There will, of course, be some people who do not ultimately accept the Knight for this supposed new personality, if only out of skepticism that someone who was once such a stickler for the rules of society is now playing on the side of the people instead. Whether someone accepts the Knight of Hope or not doesn’t really matter to them, though - at least not in a way that anyone can see how it may affect the Knight. Being a person of punk and rebellion is the facade so many Knights of Hope often put on, and it often is one that manages to get them quite a few friends as well as a few run-ins with trouble and authority. While it may seem as though the Knight of Hope had finally been reborn from their chrysalis, being a butterfly of freedom and system shut downs, there are still just a few flaws within the Knight of Hope’s facade. Dedication and commitment are the biggest ones, primarily to playing the part of a violent, rebellious person who says no to any and all governmental authority. At times, everyone else in their friend group may be so quick to cause trouble - to start a fight in a bar, to mock and antagonize authority, to participate in a protest peaceful or otherwise - but the Knight of Hope would oftentimes be one of the last ones to participate and/or agree to such things. Even when they do, as they take witness to the acts of their friends, as they play a part in the justified chaos they bring, there would still be that sense of uneasy rocking and writhing within them. They are someone who would often be the last to join in on a piece of unlawful chaos, and just as often, if not more, would be the first one to stop and step away from it.

However, the Knight of Hope has sworn themself to live this life and to block themself away from their Aspect. Many nights of sleep would be lost in favor of staying awake, looking at the ceiling, wondering if they - them and their friends - are really doing the right thing. Is this violence really the answer to their problems? Is there really no other solution to the traumas and rusted gears that plague those within this machine? No, the Knight would tell themself, this is the only way. Every other option would only lead them back to their Aspect, and that is something they never wish to do. Yet, as they continue these behaviors of radical rebellion, and watch more and more of their friends become hurt, the Knight of Hope can’t help but feel the urge to stand and speak up for them, for their cause. Perhaps, a few times, they might even want to tell their friends to simply play by the rules at least once, twice, or maybe even thrice, if only to take the time to heal. The Knight of Hope wouldn’t, though. Instead, they’d bite their tongue, swallow away their Hope, and join in with their friends and their acts of revolution. At least, they would, until one day would come where they would have no choice but to truly come out and protect their friends, one way or another. The only issue with that, though, is that the Knight of Hope’s disconnect from their Aspect has made it so they no longer know how to truly protect, whether it is by protecting their Aspect or protecting through it. It is because of this accidental forgetfulness that the Knight of Hope and their team would suffer a great loss.

In times of crisis, what people will need is someone who can protect what little Hope is left within the group. As the light begins to dwindle, and everyone is left in the vast ocean of despair, the Knight of Hope will have to rise up to the occasion and become the beacon of Hope they are meant to be. The only issue is that the Knight of Hope themself had made their connection with their own Hope extremely weak by turning their back to it - blocking and pushing it away from them for so long. How is a Knight of Hope meant to protect the Hope of others when their own is flimsy, rotten, and weak? To some Knights of Hope, the answer is simply that there isn’t a way to salvage this, for what is a Knight without their shield or their sword? No one, that’s who. They are no one, for they are just as powerful and important as any common man is if they are unable to lift up their shield and protect the Hope of those around them. Perhaps it is best for them and everyone else to simply sink into their oceans of dismay, for if the Knight can’t protect people now, when things are at their most hopeless, how are they ever going to help and protect anyone else outside of this? For these Knights of Hope, they are the ones who will most likely never travel down the road of their journey, one way or another. Severing themself completely of their Aspect, these Knights of Hope are the ones who will fade away amidst the seafoam of misery, becoming a husk that once had a light shine so brightly within their eyes.

For the other Knights of Hope, though, they will say no - no to failure, no to letting time bury them in its sand, no to fully giving up on Hope. For it is the Knight’s own Hope of being accepted, of being loved, valued, and cared for by their peers that got them here in the first place. They have not fully lost all of their Hope, but rather pushed away the Hope that brought them to be blindly obedient to the system in front of them. It is the people surrounding them - their friends and found family - that have shown them what it truly means to be a Hope-bound. It is their friends who showed the Knight what real Hope looks like, what real justice and faith is, and it is not an act of kindness the Knight of Hope will allow to go unpaid. They will fight and kick and thrash as much as they can against the waves of this ocean of misery, refusing to give in and allow for it to take them down into the murky depths. There’s still Hope, they know this, for a world without Hope is a world of anarchy, darkness, and fear, and last time they checked - this world has not fallen too far from its golden grace just yet. It will be an uphill battle for the Knight of Hope, of course, as fear and sadness can so often seem far stronger and bigger than that of Hope. Even if their own friends insist on leaving them to drown, to let the ocean reclaim them, their minds, bodies, and souls, so long as the Knight of Hope keeps their own heart and intentions pure, then they will have no problem in finding a way to help those in need.

They are the person to cling on to every last bit of Hope there is, for as long as there are embers in the air, there is a chance for a great blaze to become ignited. The Knight of Hope will stop at nothing to protect those embers - to gather and collect them into a metaphysical jar, like that of fireflies blinking out secret messages and promises for a better tomorrow. When morale is at its worst, the Knight of Hope will be there, and they will do everything in their power to hold those in need close, or will sit by someone’s side in silence until all the bad feelings go away. They are the light inside of the darkness, and they refuse to leave anyone behind - even if they have to carry them all the way back to safety themself. What the Knight of Hope needs to do in order to reach this point of protective power is to remember what makes them hopeful, what brings them peace, what makes them get up in the morning.

They may have made their connection to their Aspect weak by pretending to be someone they were not, but it is by allowing themself to be exposed to such radical and liberating souls and experiences that the Knight of Hope came to an eye-opening realization. Hope is more than just rules and faith - it’s something that changes and shifts from person to person, and it is something not meant to be shoved into a tight knit box. It is something so pure and holy that very few can truly handle it at its best, and that is why so many try to have squashed, pushed away, and suppressed. That is why these Knights of Hope step up and protect the Hope they deem to be fair and just, even if it is a Hope that stirs up rebellion and attacks a set of rules created. The Knight of Hope protects the Hope of those who have great promise to build and create a better tomorrow for not only themselves, but everyone else around them, and they will stop at nothing until that future is created and protected to the very end - even if it costs the Knight of Hope their very own life.

The Knights of Hope who protect through their Hope often hold a somewhat different, yet also partially similar, journey. As stated many times before, Knights are those who are capable of finding that gray area within their powers, where they may use both interchangeably or at the same time. The Knight of Hope is one of the most prime examples of that, for while one group protects Hope, and the other protects through it, the similarities between their stories is one that allows for the black and white of it all to melt together into a beautiful patch of gray. However, it will ultimately be up to those of you reading this to determine wherein this patch of gray is formed, if at all. Back on track, though, let’s give the full spotlight to the Knights of Hope who do learn how they can manage to protect their friends through Hope itself - primarily by exploiting it and its properties.

This one possibly poses a far more challenging journey for the Knight of Hope, as the loss they have suffered may be something such as loving a beloved member of their group, mortally or otherwise. However, perhaps the group has been given a type of threat that if they continue to do what they do, then there will greatly be dire consequences for their actions. Either way, the Knight of Hope would have to bear witness as the group’s own convictions and drive to do what is right in their eyes would erode more and more as time went on. Day in and day out, the Knight of Hope may come back to the friend group and try their best to amp everyone up, trying their best to instigate some fun, chaotic energy amongst everyone. Perhaps they would pull a prank on someone, bring another friend out to a special place of theirs, try to pull the team together to play a great game, the Knight of Hope would try again, and again, and again to bring that energy - that fire and spirit - back to the group again. They don’t want to admit defeat, they don’t want to simply lay down and become a doormat, they don’t want to be on the losing side again. At this point, they’ve already turned their back on not only their Aspect, but the group of people who raised the Knight of Hope to become attached to it in the first place. There is no going back for the Knight of Hope, even if they wanted to, which is why they are someone who has become so desperate to keep everything and everyone together. The Knight of Hope does not want to be alone - at least, not again, that is.

These are the Knights of Hope who would work tirelessly, endlessly, to try and stroke the forge until that Hope came back to everyone. They may not be like that of a Maid or a Sylph, but they will not rest for a moment until someone, anyone, has that same light of Hope in their eyes that the Knight has had within them for so, so long. It is because of this dedication to protect those around them through their own Hope that leads them to become a figure of noble prestige. Even if they feel as though their own efforts are left unnoticed, they will continue to protect their loved ones as long as there is Hope within not only themself, but in the world around them. They are meant to become someone who will not back down against even the strongest of foes, and who will instead fight for those who may not have the strength nor the soul to carry on. While some people may say the Knight of Hope should abandon those types of people, they will always refuse, for they know how it feels to be given up on - to be left behind and tossed away - and it is a feeling they will never want to leave anyone else with. Instead, as long as there is breath in their lungs, blood in their veins, and someone for them to protect, the Knight of Hope will take hold of their Aspect and use it to slice down any and all threats to those they seek to protect, wielding a sword most holy and destructive in its power.

The Knight of Hope is one who may have started their journey feeling a restlessness and sense of loss with their Aspect, believing themself to be doing the right thing by enforcing the rules of society. However, when they finally grew tired of trying to be the good guy, the hero, in society’s vision, they decided to don the facade of a punk, rebel, revolutionist, what have you. By doing so, they only pushed themself further away from the truth of their Aspect, leading themself to have many months and many days of restless unease and doubts as to who they really are, what they really stand for, and if anything of what they have done is right. While they may understand, to an extent, where all of their newfound friends come from in their reasoning and belief with their acts of protest and rebellion, there would still be that voice inside of the Knight asking the same question; is this really the only way to go about? Is there no other option - no civil discussion to be had, no middle ground to be found, nothing? Is there really only violence left to be had as the one true language everyone will ever understand? These questions are what would be left of the Knight’s connection to their Aspect - at least, until they would have to learn how to become a true Knight, one who would come to protect their Aspect, through their Aspect, or manage to find the gray area between both. The scenario in which they would be called to action may depend on the Knight of Hope, but there is very little doubt that, no matter what, the Hope in their overall group would be in great danger. As such, it would be up to the Knight of Hope to become the pieces of glue and string to keep it all together, one way or another.

For the Knights of Hope who protect their Aspect, they would be playing a role of great support throughout their team. While many Knights are already prone to dedicate themselves to the lives of one or more people they care for, each one does it in their own special way. The Knight of Hope would be someone you could go to if you were feeling lost and alone - they could be the anchor you need, the island in the middle of an ocean, allowing you peace of mind, if only for a few minutes. They are the friend you would go to if you need advice on what to do, for the Knight of Hope does more than protect the hope for a better tomorrow. Morals, beliefs, faith, and loyalty are all things these Knights of Hope have the ability to swear themself into protecting, and they will be more than happy to steer their friends into the right and proper direction of any of these paths. While they cannot see all outcomes that will promise the correct, pure, and proper Hope, the Knight will at least have the sense of what will be the right way for their friend to travel. Even if the Knight of Hope were to make a mistake in their judgement, though, and point someone in the wrong direction, what matters most is that they at least had the best intent in mind. They could be someone who purposefully points others in the wrong direction, but that is most often not how the Knight of Hope wishes to play in the game they have been subjected to. History only remembers and sings songs of the warriors who died with a heart of purity and gold, and that is exactly how these Knights of Hope wish to be remembered - as the friend who protected their loved ones from the dangerous hatred and chaos of the world, and the warrior who chose not to fight with ferocity and brutality, but instead with kindness and love.

Then there will be the Knights of Hope who protect through their Aspect, using every last ounce of Hope they can to guard, lead, and protect those who may not have enough Hope to do it themselves. They are the ones to stand between their friends and an immediate threat, for they know and believe in their friends well enough that if something were to happen to the Knight, their Hope would continue on in their friends. Until that moment comes, though, the Knight of Hope will dedicate themself to squeezing every last drop of Hope, twisting it until it rips, molding and hammering it into the finest blade, so that they may slice down the threats that target their friends. These Knights of Hope are the ones who will never give up, never back down, and never allow for anyone to push them around again. Discovering their true Hope, back-tracking and crawling all the way back to their Aspect, they not only learned how to embrace and become attuned with their Aspect - both the good and bad parts of it - but they also learned to form their own Hope. While many instances of fear, anger, and chaos may seem bigger than the Knight and their friend group combined, it is through their own weaponized Hope that the Knight is capable of winning as many battles as they can. Authority, unfair rules and systems, government, it’s all meaningless to these Knights of Hope. History may remember and celebrate the warriors who died with a heart of purity and gold, but it is those with a strong will and sharp tongue that will be remembered by those untainted by the rules of society. As long as the Knight of Hope has great strength and loyalty to their own beliefs, their own Hope for a better, more fair world, then one of the many places you can find the Knight of Hope is out on the battlefield, fighting for what they believe to be right. They are the ones who will be remembered for their courage and ferocity, but more out of avenging the people who had lost their drive, their Hope, or perhaps even lost their lives in the good and bitter fight for revolution.

Overall, the role of the Knight of Hope is one who keeps the team together, much like the Knight of Blood. Although their Aspect is not nearly as centered around bonds as Blood, it is the act of protecting the Hope of others, as well as possibly protecting through Hope itself, that brings the Knight so close to so many of their friends. Their passion for justice, their kind and willful heart, and their unwavering belief that somehow, someway, there will be a day where there will be no need for pain and sorrow, and everyone will be treated equally; this is what draws so many people to sit, listen, and perhaps even want to befriend the Knight of Hope - especially if the words the Knight of Hope speaks are those they agree with. If you are ever in the presence of a Knight of Hope, try not to be too intimidated by them, but also do not feel as though you can simply go ahead and say whatever you may please. While even the kindest of Knights of Hope may try their best to respect everyone’s own versions of Hope, they are still someone who strictly adheres themself to protecting their friends, first and foremost. Chances are if any Knight of Hope comes to either defend their friends, or attempt to slice you down with their words, then it is you who has made a grand mistake. In general, though, the Knight of Hope is one who strives to help and lead everyone towards not only a better and brighter tomorrow, but also towards a future that is not filled with as much loss and grief. After all, as happy and outgoing as the Knight of Hope may present themself to be, even the brightest minds, happiest smiles, and most inspiring souls are often the ones who have suffered from the dark depths of despair the most.

#Knight #Knight of Hope #Homestuck #Hiveswap #Knight of Hope Analysis #Hope Aspect #Noble November #Hope

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disgraceddogstar · 4 years

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Sirius Orion Black III

birthday: november 3rd house: gryffindor blood status: pureblood loyalty: order of the phoenix clubs: astronomy, astronomy homework, dueling zodiac: scorpio mbti: enfp-t (campaigner) alignment: chaotic good

✓ Humor ——- “Did you like question ten, Moony?”

He is barking laughter and poorly timed jokes, puns upon puns - seriously. A grin as wide as the day is long, carefree and easy. Light in the black of war; white sheep in the Black family. His good humor has covered him and carried him through all that he’s seen. It’s as much a shield for himself as it is those with whom he surrounds himself.

✓ Loyal ——- “Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!”

He is fierce, heart full for those he holds dear. Not many are kept that close, but there is no hesitation when asked to give his life. Warmth and comfort, in the crook of his smile and the corners of his eyes. Brilliance and steadfast companionship: a dog is man’s best friend.

✓/✕ Strong-Minded | Judgemental ——- “Besides, the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside us.”

He is a tree rooted to the earth, tall and proud. Unmoving and firm against the hailing storm. Beliefs, unwavering, unwilling to hear. Opposition is wrong, and he knows it as well as he knows the stories written in the night sky. He is strong-willed and stubborn; a brick wall would be more receptive. He thinks himself open-minded, but it is only another belief.

✕ Impulsive ——- “What is life without a little risk?”

He is snap decisions made in the heat of the moment. Turbulent and emotional, judgement shifts as easily as debris caught in the tide. Words, biting, leaving scars as easily as laughter erases them from his mind. Passing thoughts in an endless stream of chaos - why waste time paying mind to outcomes when you can just act?

✕ Rebellious ——- “There are things worth dying for!”

He is 2 am, leather, and a mess of discarded liquor bottles scattered about the floor. Blood-kissed knuckles and knuckle-kissed jaw. Smirks and sighs toppling from carved lips. Caught in a tempest, winds whipping his hair about his face, unable to see, blindly stumbling along, deafening roars threaten to consume him - one foot in front of the other. Raw magic crackling in the air, electricity against your skin; a beautiful sight when it implodes.

headcanons: (tw: mania, depression, alcohol, slurs, mentions of dysphoria, mentions of abuse)

Patronus: It’s commonplace that a Patronus will match a witch or wizard’s Animagus form, if they happen to be such, and Sirius is no exception. His Patronus takes the form of a dog, matching that of his Animagus counterpart: a bear-like German Shepherd. German Shepherds are known for being intelligent, loyal, and fiercely over-protective. Any close friend of his would attest to the fact that Sirius exemplifies those qualities. He is a bright wizard, and he would do anything for those he cares about.

Wand: As badly as Sirius sometimes wishes his wand was made from Dogwood (think of the irony! the puns! the beauty of the universe!), he was chosen by a Cypress wood wand with a Dragon Heartstring core, 15 inches, rigid.

“Cypress wands are associated with nobility. The great medieval wandmaker, Geraint Ollivander, wrote that he was always honoured to match a cypress wand, for he knew he was meeting a witch or wizard who would die a heroic death. Fortunately, in these less blood-thirsty times, the possessors of cypress wands are rarely called upon to lay down their lives, though doubtless many of them would do so if required. Wands of cypress find their soul mates among the brave, the bold and the self-sacrificing: those who are unafraid to confront the shadows in their own and others’ natures.”

Sirius won’t think about the wandlore behind cypress wands and their masters dying a heroic death until the fleeting, infinite moment in which he begins to fall in the Department of Mysteries. He will think it ironic, then, that his death is hardly heroic at all; that, naturally, James and Lily had far more heroic deaths than him. (He will also think about finally, finally reuniting with them again, and he will think of how sorry he is for leaving Remus and Harry behind, but James, here I come.)

“As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.”

It is of interest to note that dragon wands tend to be easily swayed towards the Dark Arts. Sirius thinks it should be noted, and then he will tell it to fuck right off, thank you very much. He knows that, had things gone just a little differently, he wouldn’t have had any difficulty using Dark Magic; in fact, he’d have been rather adept at it. Sirius laughs at the notion - and would like to tell the Dark Lord that he can fuck right off, too.

Sirius is a very quick learner. He is intelligent and, when he puts his mind to a task, he is able to stay determined and focused. Magic runs strong in his veins, so it’s only natural he be paired with a wand that is able to keep up with him and his raw power. That being said, however, Sirius’ magic is - too often - unpredictable. It has been since he was a child, and he still experiences outbursts of unintentional magic when his emotions get the better of him; the dragon wand nurtures his accidental magic, at times.

&--------Little Lion Man

He is named for the Dog Star, the most brilliant star in the sky, visible from anywhere on Earth - an actuality he embraces and carries with him from the moment he is able to understand its meaning. Ancient namings signify he is scorching, sparkling, bringing destruction and rebirth. He is important, and his name informs everyone of such.

But he is the point of Canis Major, a hunting dog, ever looking towards his master, Orion. Later, he would think it ironic that he was intended to obediently follow the hunter across the sky. When he was young, though, he did follow his father, his master, with wide eyes and a thirst to learn, to emulate. He did, after all, carry his father’s name as one of his own. He thought it only right that he be his hunter. He learned quickly enough to leave Orion Black be.

His name embraces the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black - a reality he despises when he is older. He is taught to believe that to be a Black, to be a Pureblood is to be royalty. He believes it.

He spends the majority of his childhood being trained to be the perfect Pureblood heir, to be the perfect Black. He attends many Pureblood-only balls and events, and is taught the proper way to mingle with other Purebloods. He learns manners and etiquette, and he is expected to be a proper child. There are never many other children at the balls, but he is reminded that it is improper to run about and make a fool of oneself like ordinary children; he is, after all, anything but ordinary.

How could he be? His name attests to his brilliance.

&--------My Manic & I

Sirius is living with undiagnosed Bipolar 1 Disorder. It won’t ever be diagnosed or named in-game since they’re living in the 70s (it’s still fairly misunderstood now), but it definitely affects him. I feel like his upswings are pretty intense, and it usually results in him wanting to be out all the time and doing things, and he feels infallible and invincible, and he’s a lot more likely to be reckless (even more so than what is typical for him) and make snap decisions. He definitely has a tendency towards dangerous ideas that he thinks are absolutely brilliant (see: the Prank with Snape). On the other end of it, though, Sirius’ lows are very low, and he self-medicates with alcohol when he’s suffering from the worst of his depression (see: pretty much all of Order of the Phoenix). But I don’t think that Sirius recognizes the depression as such. It’s a lot easier for him to acknowledge when he’s feeling great and on top of the world as opposed to when he’s feeling like shit and struggles with getting out of bed in the morning. He’s a lot more likely to hide that side of himself, too, and play it off with a smirk and light-hearted joke at someone else’s expense. He became an expert at hiding his emotions at a young age, after all.

&--------I Want to Break Free

If someone were to ask Sirius his gender and sexuality, he would quirk a brow and scoff and let out a bark of laughter because what sort of daft question is that? But, secretly. he enjoys the company of both men and women.

Sirius doesn’t remember the exact moment when he realized that he was attracted to men. Maybe it was sometime in his third year, when he had accompanied James to watch the Quidditch team practice. Maybe he had caught himself staring at one of the seventh years - a boy with shaggy brown hair and a strong jaw - as he flew around the Pitch. Maybe he had felt the distinct swoop in his stomach as he had watched, and maybe he had imagined what it would be like to kiss the older boy.

But Sirius only really remembers being too afraid to say anything to James, Remus, and Peter, being afraid that it would change everything and they would think him a freak that they didn’t want to be friends with, anymore. Especially after his “prank” on Snape in 5th year, Sirius doesn’t want to do anything that could again alienate him from his friends. They’re all he really has.

Something else he would never admit to is the many times he has passed frilly shop windows and imagined being able to wear whatever clothes he wants that he sees, or wished he could be as comfortable in his own skin as David Bowie, or Freddie Mercury. Sirius doesn’t always feel exactly right in the body he has, and he doesn’t understand it even a little bit. After all, it’s hard enough to deal with the war; he doesn’t want to even begin to focus on the whole gender bit.

In modern terminology, he would identify as gender-fluid demiromantic pansexual, but that’s too fancy and way ahead of his time, so all he knows is that he’s queer - just another way in which he would have disappointed his family.

&--------The best thing that has ever happened:

“I know that you will make us proud, Sirius.”

No one ever expected Sirius to be a Gryffindor; he certainly hadn’t when he had stepped up to the stool to be sorted his first year at Hogwarts. His entire family had come from Slytherin. He even knew that, somewhere in his lineage, he was related to Salazar Slytherin himself. But as Sirius’ attention had drifted to the far table of green and silver, he had felt a tug in his stomach that he hadn’t really understood.

….“GRYFFINDOR!”

He ignored the shouts and jests coming from the Slytherin table to rightfully take his place amongst the lions of Hogwarts. He was joined, thankfully, by James and the redhead he had met with the greasy boy (he was grateful - and always would be - that the greasy one ended up in Slytherin).

It wasn’t before he was whisked away to his dorm and he got to know his fellow dormmates: one sickly-looking boy named Remus and a short, ordinary boy named Peter. Sirius thought he could do without Remus and Peter. Who needed them when he had James, his best friend? But Remus and Peter did prove themselves when they turned the greasy boy’s hair a bright shade of pink for a week. That, Sirius decided, was enough to earn his respect.

The four of them quickly became inseparable, and Sirius decided that being a Lion was worth the consequent Howlers he received, even if meant returning from the Christmas hols with bruises hidden beneath scratchy sweaters.

&--------And the worst: "Blood traitor! Filth! Scum!“

He tried not to cry out as his mother punished him one final time for being an insolent disgrace; he wouldn’t give her the pleasure. He was worse for the wear, however, when she finished with him and sent him off to think about his disobedience. Again. Sirius sat, on the edge of his bed, trembling; it was out of his control. He thought, but it didn’t take long for him to realize what he must do.

He needed to leave.

He hastily threw what belongings he could into his school trunk, gathering up anything he deemed important. He was able to perform a simple expansion and levitation charm - he decided he could deal with the Ministry later - and led his trunk out of his room. But he knew he needed to stop at his brother’s room before he left.

Sirius loved his brother and he has always loved his brother, but Regulus was not like him. He was weak-minded and bent to the wishes of their parents. Sirius always wanted to keep Regulus safe from them, from Mother, but he went to school and was sorted into Gryffindor and it changed. He became the disgrace, and it had been up to Regulus to be the perfect son. Sirius never wanted that for him, and he didn’t want that for him now. So he tried to bring Regulus with him. He wanted to ask, wanted him to leave and escape the hell they had grown up in.

But Regulus didn’t leave with him. He wasn’t like Sirius. He was an idiot, and he didn’t leave. So Sirius goes. But not before he watched as his mother blasted his name from the family tree.

(Sirius will always regret not making Regulus leave with him.)

#abintro #bio #hc&.{the boy with the broken halo}#writing&.{my manic and i}#aesthetic&.{killer queen}#abuse cw

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seekthemist · 5 years

Note

“Wow, i didn’t realize you were that…flexible.” for capri

“Wow, i didn’t realize you were that…flexible.”

As this arrived without pairing, I decided it was time to unleash some non-Lamen content. We thus unleash THE BERENCEL, a bit more sensual than actual total smutty smut but still partially under the cut (Maybe, fucking Tumblr).In a stunning development, with this I basically finished the Captive Prince prompts I had!

Other Captive Prince fills: Lamen #47 ; Augandros #96(107) ; Lamen #99(110) ; Lamen #12+72(79) ; Lamen #86(97)

From this prompt list!

This was not the intended use of an exceptional charcoal damask fabric in its finest cut.

The import had been a painful negotiation process that had required some diplomatic arm-twisting and an intercession with Patras’s trade partners, and while Ancel would never concern himself with the dull practicalities of statesmanship he had applied himself extensively to smoothening the spirits and mollifying the whims of guests and merchants and nobles.

A lavish parcel of very priced textiles had been the very least Ancel had expected and he had not been disappointed when the carriage arrived.

The disappointment came later, while Ancel was dictating a detailed list of instructions for their tailors to a young member of the household–ten years younger than Ancel but with a fluid handwriting Ancel had yet to achieve.

“I’m not going to require a new jacket,” Berenger said, crossing the room distractedly to go towards his paper cutter on the desk. That was an argument Ancel had been forecasting, its absence would have shocked him more than its presence. But Berenger followed through with, “And that damask is not of my taste.”

That was blatantly unacceptable, so Ancel made sure to find the appropriate moment for a retaliation.

He ran his finger along the fabric, testing its strength and its twists.

“This colour suits your skin tone so nicely,” Ancel lamented, leaning with his side on the frame at the foot of their bed. “It’s such a pity you don’t have any taste.”

“I got you for myself,” Berenger countered, sounding a bit strained.

“An uncharacteristic display of wisdom, yes,” Ancel smirked, a little pleased. “And yet you leave me surrounded by brown jackets. You know when they tell you to be impressive by contrast? Well that’s cheap, it doesn’t work and it’s not what I need.”

“Why is it always the jackets!” Berenger lamented.

“Why indeed…”

Rather than replying in more details, Ancel crossed two sides of fabric and pulled.

Berenger had admittedly some very nice arms. A very nice everything, under those infuriatingly dull clothes. Ancel could almost forgive him the bland haircut for the compact curve of his biceps and the jutting tendons of his forearms.

He felt even more forgiving now, with those same arms tied with damask from above Berenger’s elbows all the way down his wrists.

When he pulled, the arms followed, tensing behind Berenger’s back.

Ancel liked the curve of muscles, so responsive to the movement, like a wave from arms to shoulders, shoulders to collarbones, collarbones to shoulderblades. He liked even more the way Berenger did not even resist it, kneeling on the floor where Ancel had put him. Nakedness really made Berenger’s body more justice than any clothing of his wardrobe.

Standing in front of him, Ancel started to secure the ties to the wrought-iron frame of the bed, and Berenger sighed a bit, as if lost in thought, or maybe sensation. He lowered his chin to his chest at that motion, and Ancel caught himself following the curve of Berenger’s neck, the jutting vertebra between his shoulders. There was a delicate-looking spot at the back of Berenger’s head, just where his short–damn brown–hair faded. Ancel ran the tip of his fingers on it, rubbing delicately, and a Berenger’s muscles tensed more markedly.

It was extremely aesthetically pleasing.

Following a capricious instinct, Ancel tightened his grip on the fabric and pulled harder.

“Mhn…”

It was a soft, breathy sound that went all the way to Ancel’s cock, and Berenger followed the increased strain. His arms got closer together, close enough that Ancel could bind them both with the same loop if he wanted to, and the centre of Berenger’s back arched to accommodate the position.

Ancel knotted the fabric into steadiness and went to raise Berenger’s chin up.

Berenger looked back at him, a tiny frown of concentration along his forehead. But he was also flushed, and his cock rested hard against his naked thighs, so Ancel could easily get what he was concentrated on.

“I didn’t realise you were this flexible,” Ancel whispered, stroking along Berenger’s face. An unassuming face, one Ancel wouldn’t have thought of as attractive, years ago. But it was, in its familiar way. “All that riding and horses are actually good for something, then.”

Berenger gave a breathy laugh, compliant and at ease with Ancel’s whim. It made fondness twist inside Ancel, in a way that still feel unfamiliar even though it was not so uncommon.

“Finally, a point in favour,” Berenger replied.

“Don’t get too used to it,” Ancel murmured back.

Berenger was distracting. Distracting enough that Ancel had to remind himself exactly what he had been doing, what was the point of this. He rubbed slowly with a thumb on Berenger’s lips, and they opened under Ancel’s touch, with a small kiss on his fingertip.

Ancel drew his hand away and moved out of Berenger’s vision, purposefully.

He picked up a toy from a cupboard and slicked it with their oil, keeping his movements steady and silent just to make Berenger strain to hear him. It was a very standard plug–boring, almost–and no one batted an eye when Ancel purchased it among others. He did wonder what the court would do, if they knew Ancel played with Berenger more often than the reverse.

When he walked back, Berenger was still calmly sitting on his heels, patient more than blindly agreeable. For someone so dead set in his ways and with such a collection of dull habits, his Lord had proved to be delightfully easy going.

“You think you can get up your knees? All tied up?” Ancel asked, without bothering to hide the toy in his hand.

Berenger eyed it carefully and the nodded, “Most likely.”

Ancel hadn’t known what he expected, but seeing Berenger press his hands against the bed frame and arch himself up was definitely an interesting experience. He wasn’t like a dancer, or a Pet. There was nothing refined in his form, his abdominal muscles and thigh were built for strength and not for grace. But he was hard, and bound, and complying to Ancel’s directions.

Ancel loved his.

He loved it enough to steady Berenger’s hips and thrust the toy in so very slowly. Enough, also, to guide Berenger to sit back on his heels. Enough to be pleased by the moan that broke through Berenger’s clenched teeth and to kiss it off his lips.

“What would the court think,” Ancel whispered, their lips brushing, “if they knew you’re more fun than any of them?”

Berenger rolled his eyes, but there was a little tilt in his lips, eyes averted–a bit shy, a bit pleased. “That’s obviously unbelievable.”

“The best type of secret, then,” Ancel winked at him, and got back to his feet.

He cradled Berenger’s head with a steady touch, swallowing silently at the sight of Berenger, all strained and wrapped in damask, rubbing his temple against Ancel’s hand like one of the horses. It was never passive, with him, but neither was a conquest. Ancel would have places he wanted to go, and Berenger would be willing to follow, just so gauge what Ancel might have seen them.

By the way Berenger was rocking on his heels, his cock twitching as the toy shifted inside him.

Ancel got a hand off him and undid his breaches, slowly. If there wasn’t enough blood in his cock already, the way Berenger opened his eyes, suddenly focused to this sound he must know very well, would have been enough to make him hard.

With his arms so pointedly bound back, Berenger was just a bit tilted forward, at the perfect height for ancel to stroke his cock on Berenger’s cheek. It was late in the evening, Berenger had a bit of unshaved stubble, and the sensation of it was intense on such sensitive skin.

Never one for games, or teasing, or stalling for no purpose, Berenger turned his head around to kiss the side of Ancel’s cock. His eyes were a bit lost in the closeness, hazy with heat. Ancel groaned under his breath even though it was not appropriate for the performance–Berenger wouldn’t mind it, though, so it was fine.

“You really should think about that jacket,” Ancel said, in a stochastic jump of argument that maybe only fit the situation in his own mind.

“I’m not thinking about the jacket,” Berenger murmured, voice hoarse and eyes heavy, kissing up towards the tip of Ancel’s cock. His neck strained in the effort, his arms tensed, Ancel could follow every wave of compact muscles. It was lovely.

He grabbed at Berenger’s nape more fully, sliding his cock along Berenger’s open mouth. The sensation was intense enough to make Ancel shiver. “You know I’m gonna fuck you after, right?”

“I really damn hope so,” Berenger groaned, shivering in an arch and rocking back more purposefully on his heels–against the toy.

“Good,” Ancel said, and thrust his cock in Berenger’s welcome, open, wet mouth.

Maybe this had been the appropriate use of the fabric, after all.

#Captive prince #Berencel #ancel x berenger #My Writing #ALL THE PROMPTS

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shenlongshao · 4 years

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Guilty Gear 2020 Thoughts:Part 1

Hi Everyone!^_^ I know it’s been a super long time since I’ve posted on here, but I do plan to post more often on subjects so please stay tuned! As a long-time Guilty Gear fan, I'm excited to post my thoughts about the latest game; currently called "Guilty Gear 2020". Since I'll be going into detail about everything, I'm going to separate this into 2 parts. I'll start with the current implemented mechanics, changes, and player accessibility.

PLAYER ACCESSIBILITY

Command List: I love the addition done to the Command List menu of how it describes what an move is, what it's good for, and a visual demonstration all on the right side of the screen.

Character Types: An interesting aspect is each character is now categorized by fighting types. Ky is an All-Rounder, technique expert Balanced fighter while Sol is also Balanced type, but is an Aggressive Striker. For new players, this is helpful with deciding what character to main or try out rather than blindly trying out each character. For older players, I could see them using this for counter-picking in match-ups(although they always did that without this feature, lol) or maybe deciding another main. I could definitely see this staying. I think it's a fun addition to the game. GAMEPLAY MECHANICS(So Far) Dash Button(Optional): Even though this is just an option, why would you want or need a button to dash in a fighting game? Holding or tapping forward on the D-pad is instinctive and easy to do, so it's not really convenient. Gatling Combination Changes: Light attacks don't chain into other buttons anymore except for certain commands and doing long combos starting with light attacks are gone. This sounds kind of familiar....

This is one of the biggest aspects alot of hardcore Guilty Gear fans are worried/upset about. I never understood why some fighting game developers think taking away the aspect of using light attacks to chain and start combos is a good idea. To me, it's like teaching someone the alphabet, but you ignore A, B, and C. It's one of the basic fundamentals of learning combos people remember and take that lesson into other fighting games. It's actually the opposite of making it accessible, XD.

Long combos in Guilty Gear is not fun strictly because it's long or super complicated, but the creativity and the joy of discovering different combinations. The sense of reward for diligent efforts, creating the tension and making the opponent second guess their move, etc. Taking that freedom away is not only limiting, but new players aren't going to get to experience the joy in mixing moves together and using what they've learned against others. Short combos or long combos aren't bad because both have their uses in certain situations against other players. Extra input and execution forgiveness when performing combos and moves would have made more sense. It would achieve both making it accessible, but still allowing the in-depth options and creativity long-time fans love.

Change to Throw Input & Whiff Animation: I'm neutral on this part, I'll have to see how it feels when I get a chance to play it.

Instant Block gives some Tension Gauge instead of Decreasing Block-Stun: This is a rrreeeaaalllyyyy an odd decision. O.o? I can see people are going to try to abuse this to gain meter, XD.

Normal Blocking in the Air and in Mid-Dash is Possible: TURTLE POWER! XD I do think it's nice not to heavily rely on Faultless Defense to block mid-dash or in the air, but I do see this taking away some strategy too. Very mixed feelings.

Roman Cancel Changes: This is one of things I need to experience to see how it is. I do think it's interesting the slowdown and opening opportunity is limited to close range instead of the entire area like in Revelator. Fusing Dead Angle with Roman Cancel is a good idea and since the developers say there's more to Roman Cancel than they're showing, this must be one of the main ways for players to be creative with their gameplay.

Cinematic Counter Hits: I'm wondering does this mean the other player can't counter back if it's cinematic? I want to learn more...

Wall Break: This is one of the mechanics I'm excited about because I always love stage transition in fighting games. It looks exciting, dynamic, and adds the experience in matches. But

instead of it being by a certain number of attacks/combos, it should be by Dust. I'll show this video below as an example.

youtube

Corner Dust in Revelator causes the opponent to be smacked harshly against the wall anyway, so it would better for Dust to also be the Wall Break. It should be either by Dust being the

last hit in a combo and/or hitting the other with Dust 3 times. This would prevent those who may not want stage transition all the time. For reward, I think it building Burst bar by 20%

or 15% would be better since there isn't really anything to build it in comparison to Tension Gauge.

Dust Changes: Speaking of Dust, restricting it to working on counter is a horrible idea. Like one of the pro players said in the livestream, it feels like a "punishment" for successfully

landing the attack cause it sends the opponent back to neutral position instead of being open to air combo attacks, etc. I think Dust is going to revert back to before based on the

negative reaction.

No Kill by Chip Damage: Lol, Daisuke doesn't want players keep using that Faultless Defense, XD.

No Danger Time: Yay!

Wakeup Timing for Characters is the same: Super yaaaay!

No Air-Teching: Does this mean the Weight(light, heavy, average weight characters,etc.) mechanic is completely abandon too? I'm thinking it must be if characters just fall to the ground

after being air-comboed. They should've kept Air-teching.

No More Blitz: RIP Blitz...I'm neutral with Blitz being gone.

No More Stagger nor Stun: Why are they're getting rid of these? Was Stagger and Stun really "complex"? Lol! This is like getting rid of Timers in matches, XD. I don't see the benefit in

removing these.

Stylish Mode Exists: There's two ways I'm looking at this. If Stylish Mode is kept, then it makes me believe there MUST be something that will be complex in the game. In Revelator,

Stylish Mode was there for those who wanted an easier gameplay style. But if it isn't and what mechanics is reduced, it doesn't make sense to also keep Stylish Mode.

Based on these so far, I strongly believe GUTS(the feature with characters having unique damage scaling when low health) is gone too. I'm glad some of the unnecessary clutter is gone

(like Danger Time) and good simplification(like universal character get up). I'm one of the people having mixed feelings with what they revealed so far; some changes are good and

exciting, others make me worried. I don't mind GG 2020 being different from previous games or taking risks with gameplay mechanics, the main part is it being GOOD changes that'll maintain

Guilty Gear's identity. I saw hints of this game straying a bit far(not totally) of its essence just from some of the character designs and presentation, which I'll explain next time.

What's keeping my hope is the player feedback and hoping those who are going Arc Revo to please provide helpful and nice feedback on what's good and bad to the developers to make GG 2020 awesome.

#Guilty Gear 2020 #GG2020 #daisuke ishiwatari #Guilty Gear XX #Let's rock #hype train #thoughts

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thestudyof5sos · 5 years

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When Uber Becomes Tinder (tinder!Ashton) - part 3

When Uber Meets Tinder, by @larryologymajor Read Part 2 here.

Part 3: Saturday.

It was nearly 9 am on Saturday morning when Ember was jarred awake from a deep sleep. Her phone was violently buzzing from the night stand, no longer in Do Not Disturb mode, but still on silent. She blindly pawed at the table surface trying to grab her phone.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily. Ember listened for a minute; she had forgotten all about her disastrous experience driving Uber last night. Ember nodded her head and quietly replied with a few yeah’s and okay’s before ending the call with her roadside assistance representative.

Ember's kitten crawled into bed and laid on the pillow with her. Ember tried to scratch under the kitten's chin, but the cat was more content with chewing on Ember's finger. Knowing she likely wouldn't fall back asleep, Ember gave the kitten a quick cuddle and crawled out of bed. She slapped her glasses on her face, shoved her phone in the kangaroo pouch of the long-sleeve tee she wore over her pink cami, then ambled into the kitchen where she stabbed at the Keurig through squinted eyes and waited for it to come to life.

Coffee and breakfast in hand, Ember sprawled out on the couch. Although it was sunny out, the outside temperature dipped colder overnight without cloud cover and her apartment felt cooler than normal. She pulled at a blanket from the back of the couch and spread it out over her legs. Moments later the kitten bounded up onto the couch, so Ember lifted up a corner and coaxed her kitten, "Come here goofball. Snuggle under the blanket and get warm." The kitten complied and pressed her body against Ember's leg; she was rewarded with vibrations from the kitten purring.

Later that afternoon, Ember was bundled up and heading out the door to pick up a few essential groceries from the convenience store across the street. It was cold out and she didn't want to walk, but her fridge was fairly empty and she had a long week ahead of her between school projects and exams. As Ember stepped out her door, her text signal dinged. It was Ashton: Hello

Ember grinned to herself and typed out: Hi :) How are you?

Then she slipped her phone into her jacket pocket and pushed open the door to exit her building. The sun was bright but the wind was wicked. She hurriedly crossed the street to the convenience store and walked even faster when her phone dinged again from her pocket. She slid into the foyer of the store and stepped over a puddle of melted snow, quickly exchanging her gloves for her phone.

Ashton: I'm good. Bored. How are you?

Ember sighed. Meh. My car is out of commission for a few days, so I walked to the store near my apartment to pick up a few things.

Ashton: So you're not going out driving tonight?

Ember: Definitely not, although I wish I was. Instead I'm stuck at home.

Ember's phone was quiet for a few seconds, so she slid her phone into her jacket pocket and grabbed a basket from the foyer then proceeded into the store. She quickly walked the aisles and loaded her basket with milk, yogurt, coffee creamer, sliced turkey, her favorite cranberry wild rice bread, eggs, and butter. Then, for good measure, she tossed a frozen pizza in her basket and headed towards the coffee station. Her phone dinged again. She set her basket on the floor and slid it out and unlocked it in one fluid motion.

Ashton: Well, at least you get to chill at home and take a break?

Ember: True, but I was looking forward to making more money tonight. I don't really have a job right now other than driving. But on the bright side, I'll be able to watch the hockey game on TV tonight.

Ember grabbed a thick paper cup and pushed a few buttons on the latte machine. She stared at the brown liquid coming from the machine thinking that she should have brought a reusable bag with for her groceries. Her phone dinged again as the machine sputtered out the last few drops of espresso.

Ashton: Understandable. Do you think you'll need some company tonight?

Holy Shit thought Ember as her heart raced. She wasn't sure what she wanted, or what to tell him. So she blinked a few times, slid her phone back into her jacket pocket, then gathered her basket and latte cup and headed to the checkout line.

Once Ember was home, she slid the frozen pizza into the oven and took a long pull of espresso; the liquid warmed her on the inside and the cup felt nice against her icy fingers.

As her pizza cooked, Ember turned on the TV just in time for the 7:07 pm puck drop and thought about the last text from Ashton. She unlocked her phone and posed her fingers over the keyboard, slowly tapping out: Will you be disappointed if I say yes, but just to hang out? My life is a lot complicated right now.

Ember finished her latte, ate her pizza, and cheered loudly whenever her team made a good play or scored a goal. The game ended with Ember's team winning 4 to 3 after two overtime periods. It was nearing midnight, much later than Ember expected and she was exhausted from her lack of sleep the previous night.

She still hadn't heard from Ashton, and she figured it was a lost cause. But she put on a brave face and sent him one more text: I think I'm going to bed soon. I'm so exhausted.

A few seconds later, her phone dinged. It was Ashton. He replied: *thumbs down* *thumbs down*

Ember scoffed at the thumbs down emojis and wrote back: Haha, I told you I'm too old to stay out late, didn't I? *laughing emoji* I need at least 8 hours of sleep to function and I'm running on 3.

Her phone dinged again seconds later, once again Ashton. Lol so you don't want to see me?

Ember was confused.I didn't say that. I just said that I'm exhausted and going to bed.

Ashton: Lol you can't be that tired.

Ember: No, I really am... Zzzzzzz... Even my kitten is ready for bed.

Ashton: Well, what if I want to see you?

Ember's heart stuttered again, and she furrowed her brow in confusion. She tapped out a lengthy reply. Ohh, I see. I appreciate the honesty although I'm a bit confused. Out of curiosity, how old do you think I am? Age doesn't really matter, but like I said, my life is complicated and I'd like to put some context to it.

Her phone dinged twice before she could unlock it. Two more messages from Ashton: 35. Lol.

Ember's mouth gaped open at her screen. He was right and she wanted to know how the hell he knew. Well fuck. Either I have a bad memory and told you, you're an incredible guesser, or you're stalking me ;) tbh I don't know which one it is lol

Ashton: Honestly, it was a good guess

Ember thought for a minute about everything she knew about him thanks to her endless hours of reconnaissance. But, she had to ask. Well you were spot on with your guess. 35 isn't that old and I don't feel old, I just can't stay up that late anymore without regretting it. Besides, all of my friends here at school are 22 year old boys who call me mom ;) They keep me young.

Ashton: Lol I can call you mom... ;)

Ember's eyes flew wide open reading that one; her fingers flew across the keyboard manically, reiterating the words she spoke out loud while laughing: Oh god, no, you can't call me mom! And why me?

Ashton: What do you mean?

Ember: What do you mean 'what do you mean'?? Why did you call and message me through the Uber app to report your 'lost' item? I'm sure know a lot of people and have a ton of friends that you can call...

Ashton: It's worth it.

Ember, still trying to get an answer from him, tried once more: Why me? It's not like this is Tinder...

Ember scrolled back through the conversation for a few minutes, but didn't see another reply come in from Ashton, so she switched her phone to Do Not Disturb, sent her best friend at school, Ben, a quick text wishing him goodnight, and went to bed.

Thanks for reading! There’s more to come! If you enjoyed this chapter, I would appreciate a reblog please and thanks! <3 I’m also looking for a beta/cheerleader for future chapters. Message me if you’re interested!

Tags: @mycollectionofnuts, @kaxseychill, @sunnysidesblog Want to be tagged? Let me know!

#5sos #5sos fic #ashton fic #ashton irwin fic #tinder!ashton #larryologyfic #larryologymajor

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crysrad-blog · 5 years

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Domino Qq – Read True Reviews Now!

In case you gamble over the web platform then you might have heard about the gambling type called as Dominoqq but if you don’t then possibly you might not be aware about exactly what it is or it is something that you should get involve in. What exactly Dominoqq is? There is nothing more complex than the Indonesian expression for ‘Football Gambling’. It generally means that if you observe an Indonesian based online poker they mention Dominoqq, You can just register on the website and bet on the football games. Why you should get involve with Dominoqq? If you like to bet on the international sports like football games and searching for a fresh website to do so on then ours is amongst the very famous Indonesian website and will be the optimal selection for you. You can also use the Google translator to eliminate the language constraint so that you can understand what actually are the offers provided by the website and also you can also come to know about the ways to perform the betting on the sports which you are interested in.

The benefit of gambling on the Dominoqq website is that it provides you the access of the different odds of bookie. In case if you perform your research prior to betting and bet prudently, it can also raise your possibilities of winning a bet. The way you can register with Dominoqq website—it is very similar to the way you register with any other online poker. Firstly access the page of registration with the help of Google Translate so that you can comprehend the instructions and follow them carefully. Many Dominoqq websites appeal for the basic information like name, address, email id and the info of the bank account. The moment you register with the website then you will be capable of transferring money to your dominoqq account and begin betting on the football games. Get to know about the Dominoqq in a detailed manner by simply visiting our specified web link!

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How to place the right bets: If you are gambling on the international teams of the football that you are aware of, bet in the manner you ever have with the tally of reading assumptions from the experts of sports prior to pacing your bets. In that manner you will get properly educated about the future games and the teams along with the result that the expert of the betting expects will take place. In case you are gambling on the Indonesian teams you have never bet before but still you wish to perform a bit more research on the former to placing bets blindly. There are various websites that are set up in order to assume the results of the football games. There are also ample of Indonesian websites that master in the info regarding the football games of Indonesia. Before placing bets on the Indonesian teams that you are not familiar with just get the sufficient knowledge about the team prior to placing bets on that specific team. Visit our website as we are amongst the best websites in the Indonesia for years and this experience will definitely work for you.

#domino99 bandarq poker online

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spunkycatninja · 6 years

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My thoughts on editing

So I thought, after some prodding from a friend, that I would do a blog on editing since people might have questions who are interested in editing (for games, books, etc.). I've had experience editing a text based game and a full length novel as well as doing a lot of proofreading and creating reading/writing curriculum for the English department I work for. [Yes, I just ended my sentence with a preposition, and no, I don't care. ;) ] I also went to a university and earned a degree in English Language Learning, so I studied grammar, syntax, and all that other good stuff as well as world literature. Did I put you to sleep yet? No? Good. Now that you know my qualifications and that I'm not pulling things out of thin air, let's get on with it, yes?

There are some things to keep in mind when you decide you want to edit a game or book for someone. I won't (and can't, quite frankly) go over every single thing, but I feel the list below mentions the 5 most important “rules” to keep in mind.

#1: Know that you won't catch every single thing. I'm really good at what I do. Really, I am. I have people with PhD's asking me to go over their work to make sure everything is correct because I'm known to have an eagle eye for this sort of thing. Even with all the schooling I've had, and even though I am very meticulous, there are bound to be errors that get missed. It happens. It's ok. Nobody is perfect. Take a breath. Come to terms with that. (Something I need to keep reminding myself about as well.) If you notice that you missed a lot, try to do better next time. Maybe do some grammar review, and most importantly, read s-l-o-w-l-y.

#2: Keep in mind that the text you are working on is not yours. In other words, don't get bent out of shape if someone doesn't want to change what they have after you've offered your fixes and suggestions. As the author, they have the right to shape their creation however they please, so even if you have solid, legitimate reasons for offering a solution for a mistake/blunder/oversight/horrific abomination, they don't have to implement it even if they really should. Again, take a deep breath and know that this does not reflect poorly on you.

#3: Know your grammar. Yep, I said it. Learn grammar, dammit. It's important. It's essential to know the difference between:

A) Let's eat Grandma!

and

B) Let's eat, Grandma!

In one of those, you're a nasty cannibal that nobody wants anything to do with (especially Grams). In the other, you're grandma's favorite who will inherit everything for taking her out for a lovely meal. ;)

So many times I see people say, “Just put a comma where you'd breathe. You don't need to know grammar.” You know who says that? People who don't want to learn grammar or new teachers who've been told to tell students that statement as a way to get their point across. I can't tell you, as someone who teaches this stuff, how quickly that backfires—which is why only new/inexperienced teachers tell their students that (usually because they aren't prepared to explain). Grammar can shape the reader's experience, so knowing what to and how to punctuate can be a very powerful tool.

#4: Know when to correct and when to let it stand. But wait! Didn't I just say “know your grammar?” What is going on here? Am I pulling a fast one? No, not really. Creative writing is different than academic writing. There will be times when there is a change in beat/tone or a statement really needs to stand out, so an “extra” comma or a fragment may be perfectly legitimate. In other words, you have to take context into account when editing. This is super important! Don't just blindly correct every run-on, fragment, and comma splice. Read it. Then read it again. Look around it. Does it make sense as it is? What meaning is conveyed when it's punctuated like that? Is this getting the author's point/voice across? These are all very important questions to ask when looking at a text.

#5: Give positive feedback too, not just constructive criticism. Writers like to know what works and what doesn't for their reader. You are not just a living breathing auto-correct (unless that is what you and the author agreed on). So if you are enjoying something, don't just chuckle to yourself and move on. Make a note of it. Tell the writer. Let them know what really tickled your fancy. Moreover, they appreciate if you catch continuity errors, and while a few may disagree with this next part, I would also add that if a different perspective can be offered on what is happening, you might want to speak up. Let me clarify that last part with an example because that last statement was kind of vague.

So let's say you are editing a game where the player can be a man, woman, non-binary, etc., and the player can be whatever sexuality they desire. Said author has the player character always ogling a female companion even though the player created a gay male, straight female, or asexual character. If you are editing this game, and you see this, I would assert that you should definitely bring this to the author's attention. Because let's be real, many players would have a problem with this if this cropped up and this type of behavior did not fit their character. What the author does after that is up to them (see #2 for details).

Are you still here? Wow! That's awesome! Thanks for reading my short novel. I hope this helps anyone who has questions about editing. Keep in mind that this is just my opinion on editing. I'm sure there are others out there who don't necessarily agree with everything I've said. But if you were thinking about getting into editing, I hope I've given you some place to start with. (Oh look! I ended with another preposition again! Oh, the horror!)

#editing #editing games #editing books #grammar #grammar is sexy bitches

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muffinsthefemboy · 6 years

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Muffin’s Top Ten Games of 2016

Best Experience: Persona 5

I bet everyone saw this coming…

What can I say that you have not heard yet? It’s a groundbreaking JRPG with easily the greatest, sleekest, and most stylized UI to ever be executed in a video game. It possesses a legendary soundtrack that blows every other AAA title of 2016 out of the water. How the new engine Atlus is using brings the persona games to life in the most colorful and vivid installment to date. The story is spectacular, gripping, and not only a fantastic insight into Japanese culture but also a rather poignant social criticism of Japan and the whole world. The dub is exquisite with a very talented cast (and a free DLC to play with the original Japanese voice actors). Each confidant is very unique, fully fleshed out, and individually sympathetic. How the Persona combat has been refined and improved to perfection. Or the fact that I don’t want to spoil anything about this game because it’s definitively the best experience of 2016. I’m sure anyone who knows anything about quality games has already heard all of this. There’s honestly little I can praise that has not already been noticed and adulated and even less I can discuss that would spoil some aspect of this game. So rather than ranting about everything that makes this title the best gaming experience to come out of 2016, I thought I’d take a chance to explain the Persona genre of JRPGs to someone who may not have played any prior installments or just doesn’t know if it’s a game they may like. Because I understand if my tastes are not those of others and I believe that hype should always be questioned before followed blindly.

The Persona in the titles of Persona games refers to a type of psychic ability obtained by one realizing their true self while within the world of the Metaverse(a sort of cognitive world generated by human perception different from reality). Think Stands but less Superfly or Metalica and more Weather Report and Magician’s Red. Within the context of each game, the player takes on the role of the “Wild Card”, an individual capable of possessing multiple Personas. Usually, this protagonist is the silent type giving you the choice of what their dialogue with others will be like. The Persona series has become a staple of the JRPG genre because of how well it blends two specific aspects. First, a unique turn-based combat system oriented around a multitude of element based attacks and a plethora of enemies known as shadows. Shadows are creatures of the collective unconsciousness often taking the form of mythologically and culturally relevant figures and creatures. Each with varying strengths and weaknesses. The trick is to exploit the elemental weaknesses of the shadows in order to gain an extra move and turn the flow of battle favorably in your direction. It can often result in a lot of trial and error but I find it fun. The second aspect blended so well is a sort of real-life, high school, social simulator. While outside of the Multiverse, your character will take on the role of Japanese student with responsibilities and socials links to build. Of course, there is limited time to dedicate to building relationships with your partners and confidants as well as a social stat system imperative to progressing certain social links. Time relegation is a major part of this game and is vital, however, it’s not nearly as stressful as Dead Rising’s time constraints and becomes more comfortable with time. Each Persona game spans the time period of a year within the game’s context. The stories each present are gripping and often socially relevant. Each title focuses on a specific philosophical concept that will mold the style and subject of the game. I won’t say what P5′s focus is as it’s up to the player to discover it and again, I don’t want to ruin the experience in any way. I really love the Persona games and I think Persona 5 is easily the best so far.

It might not be for everyone, but this game is an experience I’ll always adore. 380+ hours logged. :3

#persona 5

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jac-caenlamer · 4 years

Text

Ma Qianzu said _ There might have been some misunderstandings about blockchain games before

What is the game? The essence of the game is: the art of passing time supported by high-tech. Thus, the game must 1st be fun and fun. High-tech is a fun way to accomplish it. Only by being full of fun can the time be exceeded more easily. Combining the nature of the game to speak about chain game titles, it can be explained from the viewpoint of three "indeed" and three "no". Say three "nos" first. Some misunderstandings about chain games First of all, games are not financial products. The goal of playing financial loans is one: to make money, but if you only concentrate on income, you'll totally lose the original intention of the game. Combining the nature of the game described above, the game is used to pass the time, so fun is the most essential. It's really not fun to buy something and await the cost to go up and resell it. Many game designers discuss the seven deadly sins of human being nature, so using the characteristics of the blockchain to blindly emphasize that playing games can make money is in fact putting the cart before the horse.

Secondly, the game isn't a so-called "project" within the chain circle. Quite simply, the game isn't used to concern coins. It really is correct that game gamers are born with the very best acceptance of digital possessions, but this is not the reason why an electronic currency must be released in the game. Especially at the moment, you can easily misunderstand that the game is just a fake shot, and the real goal is to send a coin to harvest a wave of leeks. Therefore if the real purpose is to make the game nicely for customers to play, why bother to provoke suspicion. As the U.S. lawmakers reported in the news headlines recently considered, if Facebook straight adopted Bitcoin rather than having to write-up Libra itself, the result would be "much better." Just as, if you play games purely, the existing native tokens on the public chain are enough to understand the payment functionality, and it is not necessary to issue the coin yourself.

Third, the game isn't dice. Although randomness can be an important assistance for the fun of the game, the game should create the process of random results full of fun and artistry through a variety of packaging, rather than straightforwardly presenting the results to an individual. This is rude and immediate. It is a great destruction of the beauty of the game, and it is hard to be recognized and accepted by actual game players. Having said three things, they can actually end up being summarized into a single. Blockchain games can't be provided the "functions" of the blockchain just because they are built along with the blockchain (in addition these features are not all reasonable). Blockchain games should first end up being games. Just what a chain visit should appear to be First of all, like other styles of games inside the annals of information technology development, the first objective of blockchain games should be to help more common people learn, adapt and accept the blockchain. Stand-alone games have helped us get familiar with computers, online games have helped us get familiar with the web, mobile games have helped us get familiar with the cellular Web, and so on... Blockchain games shouldn't only concentrate on the foreign currency circle and chain circle from the beginning. For customers, it should focus on the general public and shoulder the same historic mission as the predecessors. Secondly, to spell it out the game from an academic perspective, it must provide a well-defined worldview and let the player simply understand and enjoy it, so the player can interact with the game under this worldview and obtain pleasure, and this pleasure happens to be his life experience Not available or especially desire to experience. For instance, "Horseman Move" follows this principle and introduces the planet of horse racing, allowing gamers to use the racecourse such as a actual race owner, cultivate horses, participate in competitions, win prizes, and obtain pleasure. non-e of the processes can be omitted, normally the conversation will not be benign. The best pleasure can be problematic for ordinary gamers to experience in real life, which just displays the meaning of the game.

Third, "de-blockchainization" is specially important for chain games at the moment. It could be strange to say that, since what I am doing is a blockchain game, why should we emphasize de-blockchainization? In fact, this formulation can be an echo of the prior article. You can't point out that chain games must discuss finance, must discuss issuance, must discuss NFT, etc. They are not wrong, nevertheless, you can't blindly pursue these "blockchain functions" and ignore them. The game itself should have the playability and artistry. From an great perspective, blockchain being an infrastructure ought to be invisible to gamers (though it is difficult at the moment), so that makers can concentrate on providing fun games, and gamers can more easily accept the new This content of the gameplay. Thus, a chain game must first solve the issue of whether it's a qualified game, and then it needs to deeply explore what the blockchain can achieve before to help make the game more fun, rather than basically applying "blockchain functions" to The game can be called a chain game. What does blockchain bring to games The most well-known standard definition of large-scale online games in the PC era is MMORPG, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, and Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Among them, the pioneering function is "Network Genesis" released in 1997. It really is usually called "UO", which is the abbreviation of its English name Ultima Online. The developer Origin is a generation game player, and the publisher is the aspect game industry. Years of enduring giants-EA, Electronic Arts. And the most well-known function in MMORPG is "World of Warcraft", which recently launched the nostalgic service. The developer is the number one get better at of the game business in the Computer era-Blizzard Entertainment, known as glass slag.

World of Warcraft Classic Nostalgia The definition of MMORPG should be considered in two parts. The RPG in the second half is a standard game classification. There are also numerous RPGs in stand-alone games. This is simply not the concentrate of the article. The MMO in the first half refers to the new vitality injected into the game by the web. Massively-large-scale, different from the past few individuals in the neighborhood area system, online games are performed on the scale of hundreds of thousands of people together, but also refers to the game's planet view, gameplay, and articles are relatively complex. Multiplayer-Multiplayer, as mentioned above, many people play jointly, rather than adventure by yourself. Online--Online, this is the core part. MMORPG creates a virtual planet that continues to operate. Even if the ball player ends the game, the virtual planet continues to use in the main server, other gamers can continue to participate. To place it another method: numerous gamers and players may fully exchange info through system interconnection inside MMO, and then create this generation of immortal game types. Because this sort of gameplay is more pleasurable than playing on your own or enjoying CS or StarCraft in the LAN. As the blockchain technology matures, the network which we live will gradually evolve from the web of Information to the web of Value. As a decentralized distributed accounting technology, blockchain may bring the most core things to games. It really is trust. Because the first data can't be tampered with, the second smart contract is immediately executed. From information tranny to trust tranny, this can make the creation and operation of games undergo deeper modifications, and a larger-scale division of labor can be carried out than previously. The complete game ecology has become unprecedentedly fair and simply, and between game producers and gamers The status of between can also be completely equal. As game practitioners, the only thing we need to do is to actively embrace such changes. Before blockchain technology is accepted on a large scale, this type of faith is difficult to speak about. Even very companies like Facebook will be questioned, let alone startups. Because trust can't be disappointed, complete openness is the greatest choice. Therefore MMO will evolve into MMC in this fresh era-Massively Multiplayer Cooperation, a massively multiplayer cooperative game.

#best bitcoin games 2020 #new bitcoin games #enjin games #btc game #earn bitcoin playing games

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kaibutsushidousha · 7 years

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What is the type of characters that you hate? (Feel free to show examples)

Now that’s a really interesting ask. I never expect I would ever get to talk in lenght about the concept of character hate and that’s a really fun subject to tackle. The read more here is because the answer is very, very long, not because it has explicit V3 spoilers. It does have chapter 1 spoilers, but only at the last paragraph and with a warning beforehand.

There’s not really any “type” of characters I inherently hate. It’s difficult to create something completely original when almost everything have already been done, so all characters tend to fit into archetypes, but any mildly competent writer will make their character grow beyond their archetype. Of course, I’m not saying it’s not impossible to create unique characters. Iruma, for example, is a character I can’t think of any character similar to her. It also doubles as an example of how this sort of uniqueness doesn’t make your character automatically good.

Anyways, as you want examples, my approach to this question is to name 4 archetypes I dislike, give examples of good characters who overcame their unlikable archetype and tell how them did. But before that I’ll have to say that bad archetypes never make me truly hate a character. When I see a character on an archetype I don’t like, I just don’t care about the character initially. I can’t bring myself to hate it because I believe in the character’s potential to become much more than what they were introduced at. And if they don’t by the end of the story, I have no reason to start caring about them now of all times. After I’m done with this for bad archetype examples, I tell you what you need to really make me hate a character.

Example 1) I don’t like rude/brute characters, specially when they are not villains. This is very broad and nearly omnipresent, so it’s hard to think of specific examples, so let’s go with the basic DanganRonpa. The brutest characters in the franchise are Oowada, Kuzuryuu, Owari, Sakakura and Momota. I’m not counting Iruma here because is a completely different brand of rude. I also don’t think I need to talk about Sakakura because almost every reacted to him the same way I did, so we’re left with the other 4.

Out of all of them, I feel like Owari is the only one who didn’t manage to grow over her archetype. In fact, I feel like her further character construction only made her worse, for reasons I talked about just yesterday. Oowada and Kuzuryuu however, managed to become one of my favorite characters of their respective games. Momota didn’t go that far, but he is pretty good too.

Oowada is definitely brute and angry and it shows, but he is ultimately a character defined by his inner weakness and put directly into constract against the small and frail Fujisaki’s courage and the breaking point of his story comes from internally admiting defeat against Fujisaki. The tropes I don’t like were put into good use and resulted into a brilliant and emotionally strong story that would be impossible without it.

Kuzuryuu earned mostly by being a character defined by his kindness and how that contrasts with the position he is supposed to fill, but I’ll go in more detail about him when I talk about Peko.

Momota is the least good out of the three, mostly because he doesn’t stray too far from the hero archetype, although he is well used in the good parts of it (mainly being inspirational) and gets a lot of character value out of his interactions with Ouma.

Example 2) Blindly obedient characters. Usually soldiers and maids. This terrible archetype is an easy excuse to make a character’s motivations less personal and they very often tend to feel emotionless. DanganRonpa has easy and convenient examples of characters who didn’t grow beyond the archetype in, you guessed it by the second sentence in the example, Mukuro and Toujou. For the good examples of this, I’ll go with Hisui from Tsukihime and, as I mentioned before, Peko.

Hisui is a character very frequently described by Shiki’s narration as emotionless and machine-like at first, but we as her character is further constructed, we learn that that’s not how she naturally acts and she has very emotinally impactful reasons to act like that. Not to mention she is a central part of Kohaku’s (my favorite character ever) motivations, so I’m naturally inclined to like her by proxy as well.

Peko is most likely the most interesting example in this entire list because the great writing rised a character to my overall top 10 favs at the time(currently still on the 11-20 line) by making good use of archetypical tropes I usually hate. Sure, she was initially present as a type of character I like a lot with only a last minute reveal that she was the archetype I don’t like, but her situation as part of this archetype only made her character extremely better. Peko avoids the pitfalls of the emotionless servant and takes a very unique and unusual twist on the archetype by being the blindly obedient servant of someone who really doesn’t want a blindly obedient servant. As she takes no orders from Kuzuryuu, she has to act based on what she thinks Kuzuryuu wants and she can be wrong about it, as her chapter is a huge evidence of. Her being forced to interpret Kuzuryuu is even more excellent due to what makes Kuzuryuu himself great on his own. Kuzuryuu is defined as someone who is too kind to be a yakuza boss but still has to fill that role while maintaining the image and reputation that clashes with his essence and that conflict is passed down to Peko as well, because she is very aware of that and has to choose between acting based on the wants of who Kuzuryuu truly is or who Kuzuryuu is trying to be. Every single part of Peko’s writing is genius.

3) Yanderes. This one should be self-explanatory, but also come as surprise due to my love for many other obsessive characters. Yanderes are bad because their obsession is specifically with love and their definition of love is completely different from mine. Yanderes are usually associated with a possessive and jealous personality that wants to keep the target only for themselves regardless of how they feel about it. I see love in many definitions, but mainly as being happy with someone else’s happiness, so I think love-centric characters should be selflessly dedicated to make the “target” happy. I’m a huge sucker for characters in one-sided relationships who support their target in a two-sided with someone else and that’s the main reason I tend to say I prefer one-sided shipps (provided the target doesn’t hate the character in love).

Examples of yanderes I like include Sakura Matou from Fate/stay Night and Mikan Tsumiki. Both have superb backstories establishing them as emotionally dependant, their dependancy is not limited to their yandere traits and their properly treat as creepy, if not outright evil for this behaviour. Bonus points for Sakura for being a rare case were an eroge heroine is the main villain of her own route.

As much as I don’t want to compliment Idol Death Game TV, Rito Karasuma from it and Mukae Emukae from Medaka Box are also excellent example of likable yanderes for a different reason. They both are extremely obsessive but they lack the possessiveness that make yanderes suck. On the contrary, they agree with me on what love should be like and are insanely dedicated to their target’s happiness.

Rito takes part on the Dream of Dream not to win, but to make Ayaka win, because she strongly believes Ayaka is the best idol ever, so everyone else should also get to see how great she is and admire her as much as Rito does. Even after she discovers this actually a death game, she still focused only on making Ayaka win and is perfectly willing to give up her own life for it. Rito’s smile in her route’s secret ending when you make Ayaka win is easily one of the best moments in that shitty game. Rito’s character as whole is a great treasure found in a garbage pit.

As for Emukae, she gets a great character arc about her learning more about Zenkichi’s character during their times together and ultimately decided to support him in his relationship with Medaka. She is exactly the type of character I described here above.

As exemplified with those two, yandere and blindly obedient servant are two archetypes I really dislike, but they go extremely well together, almost completely compensating for each others flaws. The yandere being dedicated to target’s wants eliminates the unlikable possessivity elements and the obsessive yandere passion eliminates the emotionlessness factor and makes the servant character motivations extremely personal. Not to mention the extent of the yandere’s dedication leads to awesome feats like Rito’s “Ayaka-chan is too nervous to perform this show, I should burn the closest building to cancel it” moment and Emukae’s first confession to Zenkichi, which is easily Medaka Box’s most iconic page and my go-to example for when people ask me what Medaka Box is like.

4) Self-insert characters. I never felt like any narrative ever benefitted from immersion or generic “relatability” (relatibility to more unique personal experiences is a different matter though) and that feels like a really lazy excuse not to write your protagonist. There’s really no saving this one, but I really love characters who look like self-inserts at first but then are revealed not to be. The first examples that come to mind are Hajime Hinata, Souta Mizushino from Re:Creators, Shirou Emiya and Shiki Toono from Type-Moon and to some extent Kaede Akamatsu as well.

Proper self-inserts are never good, but they can be at least tolerable if they are being used to make a point. For example, Naegi is literally anyone to push the idea that literally anyone can defeat despair if they are at least a bit optimistic, or Ritsuka Fujimaru is a stand-in for humanity because Fate/Grand Order is a story about celebrating humanity throughout history and about humanity as species surpassing its challenges.

Now let’s move on to what makes me hate a character. As I said, if the character is part of an archetype I dislike and don’t go into a likable direction, I’ll just not care about them, so how do you make me hate a character? Easy, you first bring me to care about the character then take them in a completely unlikable and disappointing direction. Almost all of the characters I truly hate are characters I used to love at some point. If you have been following my blog for a long time, you saw it happen with Angie and Shinguuji. Giving a TLDR answer to the initial question, the type of I character I can hate is: the type of character I can like.

Now let’s move to the example part, let’s give 3 examples of really awful directions you can take your character.

1) Make your character have completely stupid, unreasonable and poorly justified actions and make them to central and relevant to the character to ignore. As for examples, we have the aforementioned Shinguuji and Angie, both who I already explained about.

2) Center your character around a mystery and give that mystery a really underwhelming answer and reveal it in a uncerimonious way that feels like it never really mattered to begin with, then make it never centrally relevant to the character.

An example of this character anti-climax is Phi from Zero Escape. She clearly knows a lot more than she should and seems very involved with the plot, but we can never know exactly why because of VLR’s terrible decision of making the ending a complete sequel hook. Next game, Phi is completely sidelined, the answer to her mystery is revealed (technically) without her presence, it more about Delta than about her even thought she had an entire game of pointless build-up about it, we never get a scene of her reacting to it nor her relation to Delta ever matters to ever matter to anything.

3) Suddenly throw your character into an archetype I dislike. Obviously Peko is an exception to that and is the only one remember right now.

An example where it didn’t benefit the character is Arcueid Brunestud from Tsukihime. Arc is really great in her own route. She is a fun airhead, smart and badass when needed, has a good character arc about her growing humanity and a great dynamic with Shiki. Then the next route we play is Ciel’s. There we see how Arcueid is like when she doesn’t have Shiki’s preference and, guess what, she turns out have been a possessive yandere all along. An overpowered possessive yandere who usurps the role of final boss of the route when it should be Shiki and Ciel’s histories as Roa. I’m glad we never get to see her in any of the next routes.

Another very interesting example is Akane Kurashiki from the Zero Escape escape series, because she incorporates multiples of the 3 examples above at the same, shows how not even my absolute favs are safe from dropping with further characterization and how recovery is always possible down the line.

After I finished 999, I loved Akane’s character to the point she rose to becoming my overall second favorite character. Then we got the unfortunate sequel that was Virtue’s Last Reward. There Akane is quite different. She is not a servant character but she has the exact same problems I have with them. Her very personal story from 999 is replaced with a very unpersonal “save the world” storyline and she acts completely emotionless, even to Junpei, to the point it feels like her fun personality from 999 was just an act to get Junpei to work the way he needed to. (Example 3)

At the end of the game, we get also get some final exposition from Junpei saying that all timelines still exists, his times with Quark will still remain some even if that idea of creating a “perfect timeline“ goes right. What does that mean for Akane’s character? It means she her “heroic“ efforts to fix her history are acutally just her cowardly running away to a different timeline while leaving another version of herself to suffer in the bad timeline instead. That makes her actions not only unpersonal but also unadmirable. (Example 1)

Next we get ZTD, who brings back Akane with her fun teasing personality from the first game and also showing the process of how she steeled herself to become her VLR self, not only confirming the parts I liked about her were a genuine part of her character but also justifying the parts I don’t like, completely solving the example 3 problem. The example 1 part is not solved but it’s acknowledged, questioned and actually has the characters feeling like dicks at some moments for randomly putting their other selves to death. That was enough for me to grow attached to Akane’s character again. She didn’t go back to second spot, but she’s now most likely around 20-30, which is pretty good all things considered.

Well, this is an ask about character hatred, so I think I should talk a bit about the final boss of the characters I hate, a character fits in all of the three examples above simultaneously and didn’t get the redemption Akane did: Kyouko Kirigiri.

In chapter 6, we start things off with a really uncerimonious reveal that Kirigiri’s talent was actually the most obvious guess imaginable (Example 2). Ok, that’s actually not that bad and we get to hear more about this when she talks about Jin. Jin was, in her own words, talented as detective but that was not something he really wanted to do, so everyone in the family unfairly considered him a failure, including herself (starting to dip a bit into Example 1 territory but not quite, Kyouko has the right to be biased in this situation). Kyouko, however, say she is glad she was abandoned because she was proud of her detective carrer and makes a little speech about a detective’s duty of being impartial (Example 3 into the servant character archetype with her being blindly obedient to Kirigiri family, with an extra dose of unpersonal and emotionless because she is actively enforcing neutrality, along with a bit of Example 1 because the focus on impartiality contradicts the family’s biased attitude towards Jin). Last she says she didn’t hate him for abandoning her, she hated because the rest of her shitty family would constantly treat her with pity for being abandoned, which is something completely beyond his control (Example 1 amplified by the fact the neutrality speech a couple lines ago was Kyouko completely relinquishing her right to be biased). That’s all not even considering the very strong implications that Jin was kicked out of the family (which was apparently confirmed by DRK, but we’ll never know how canon that was). It was actually amazing how managed to hit all the points that mostly make me hate a character with only one single scene.

That’s all about the characters I hate, but now I want to talk about something extra regarding an interesting experience I had with character hate as a concept and how it works on different ways for everyone. That’s the part with V3 spoilers.

This is actually about Kaede Akamatsu and how she is received by the fandom. I saw some person complaining about the chapter 1 twist and decided to discuss with them about. This turned into a very, very long discussion about Akamatsu’s character and the direction it took. Before that conversation I was a little bit disdainful of Akamatsu fans who hated the twist, but it felt like they didn’t like the character for who she else, but for what they were expecting her to be. While talking about for hours with a person I deemed a bad Akamatsu “fan”, I came to feel like if I wasn’t the huge of fan of mystery narrator murders I am, Akamatsu could very well fall into my hated character list. The person I was talking to described exactly what happens when I grow to hate a character and yet he was still claiming to love her character. That gave me a lot of thought about how people consume media in different ways and have different factors to define what they like or hate. That guy was most likely the reason why this answer turned to so long.

I guess what I’m trying to say with this last thing is that media consumption is always a personal experience and my way of evaluting characters might or might not apply to how you enjoy things, so you don’t have to think my method is right and all others is wrong. Whether you’re liking or hating characters, decide this in a way that works naturally for you and don’t criticize others for experiencing fiction in different ways.

#I can't believe an ask about character hate turned into such a pleasant write and one of my answers I am the most proud of #should I tag the characters or not?#character hate

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