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shihalyfie · 3 years

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I’m a diehard 02 fan who does not want a reboot and never wanted a reboot, and here’s why

This is one of my few editorial-esque pieces, but this is something some friends and I have been discussing for a while, and given what’s going on right now, I feel like this needs to be said at some point.

Sometimes I feel like there’s a really massive gap between what 02 fans want (especially diehard ones) and what people think 02 fans want. I'm not saying that media should only be catering to hardcore fans, and if more casual fans of 02 or people who simply just happen to have a stake in the full franchise have their own opinions on what they wanted to see out of 02-related media, that’s perfectly fine, and they have a right to have those expectations. What I’m mainly writing this about is sentiments that talk about how Toei is apparently doing 02 a disservice or sweeping it under the bus by not rebooting it (which basically comes with an implication that giving it respect would mandate it being rebooted just because Adventure was), or talking about how doing a reboot would please 02 fans just by giving their favorite characters more rep. (Although, I suppose the simultaneous reveal of an actual 02-related movie kind of killed any grounds for claiming that the lack of a 02 reboot meant sidelining 02. You can’t really claim that they’re sidelining 02 when they’re making a whole movie, after all...)

Of course, I don’t claim to speak for every single 02 fan out there (so if you’re a 02 fan who doesn’t agree with anything I’m about to say, I apologize and hope I don’t sound presumptuous), and I highly doubt I represent the mainstream, but I felt I should input my perspective as a 02 fan who’s friends with a handful of other 02 fans, who have discussed this extensively and all have the same feelings on the topic, and why it’s kind of frustrating to keep hearing this kind of thing from people who assume that all fans of something should want to see more things that resemble them by default without any more nuance to it.

It won’t actually improve much that’s worth it

I’m going to be blunt about it: I think more people who supposedly want this 02 reboot are people who hate or dislike 02 than people who actually are fans of the series, because they’re doing this under the sentiment that “this was a bad series, so a redo would improve it.” You can especially tell because a lot of people acting like a reboot is in 02′s best interest are the same people being scathingly critical of the current Adventure: reboot right now, so you can see that this kind of mentality comes from people who clearly understand that a reboot won’t necessarily be something everyone likes all that much, and thus believe 02 is so unsalvageably bad that you couldn’t possibly make it worse. So you can probably understand why I’m not exactly patient with this kind of take.

If we are to be charitable, though -- if this sentiment comes out of a genuine feeling that 02 had missed potential that could be addressed by the reboot -- I want to ask everyone if they really believe that this theoretical reboot would be a net improvement, especially one that’s worth all the time and effort involved, and even more especially given the writing style that the current Adventure: reboot is employing. You don’t have to claim it’s a perfect series or anything to understand the sentiment that it held up enough by itself to not necessitate a whole anime series being made to do another take on it.

Something I would like to remind people who love to claim that 02 is such a despised series is that it made around 89% of Adventure’s revenue at the time it aired, and despite those who despise 02 being very vocal on the Internet, the actual mainstream tends to be very positive about it, especially in terms of anything to do with Ken (whom most reasonable people will agree had a character arc that deserves acclaim). So in other words, if you want to do a reboot, most likely you would want to do it without offending the base that likes the series already, right? (Especially since, you know, recent events have proven that upsetting the real-life 02 fanbase is actually a pretty inadvisable idea...)

Here’s the thing: Once you filter out most of the “scapegoat” reasons people tend to criticize 02, the one that’s generally the most agreed upon is how disorganized the plot gets in the second half. So this so-called ideal situation reboot would supposedly iron out all of the messy plot writing and make use of the “wasted potential” the series had -- but 02 was way more than just a narrative storyline with characters walking around in it, and when it comes to the reasons people were so drawn to it, they’re tied to the series themes about regrets and making up for the past, and about the unreasonable pressures that society places on children. That, and also the most important one, the central theme of human relationships, and the charismatic and well-developed (yes, really) characters. The so-called “messier” second half of 02 was full of payoff for a lot of what was set up in the first half in regards to its themes, and a lot of its subplots or character flairs are packed in really small nuances that are easy to miss on the first watch.

What this means is that 02 is a series that works off of a lot of delicate balances. Adventure could be “rebooted” because everything was very clear-cut and straightforward, which meant that you could change almost everything about the plot and still relatively adhere to the primary points of “kids gain self-awareness through a journey in another world”. (Like, I really hate to break it to those who put Adventure on a pedestal, but this is mainly possible because Adventure doesn’t really have much of a plot besides “defeat enemy” followed by “defeat bigger enemy”...) In the case of 02, everything regarding the story is, for better or for worse, much more deeply tied to the plot, the narrative behind the Kaiser and the traces of psychological horror laced into everything, and the second-half evolution mechanic, Jogress, has a lot to do with the developments related to the human relationships narrative. Moreover, a lot of the reasons that people call it “bad” for are deeply tied to the exact same reasons a lot of people like it -- that its takes on certain topics were heavily nuanced and unconventional, meaning it could cover ground that most media wouldn’t go anywhere near -- and so the series loses too much of its identity if those aspects are removed, even if it ostensibly seems like “streamlining” it.

So if you mess with one thing, a lot of it falls apart -- and in fact, considering the writing style that the Adventure: reboot is using right now, it’s hard to imagine that applying it to 02 would make it any better. Actually, it seems like it wouldn’t address any of the grievances anyone has with it to any substantial degree, and it’d be more likely to axe all of the stuff that were integral to 02′s identity, like the social commentary, or the heavy focus on human relationships, or the unusual sort of character nuance it employed, and...basically, we go back to the same question: is this actually worth it?

02 itself was about not having this kind of sentiment

The main reason most 02 fans get upset about the 02 characters not being included in Adventure canon-related things that should rightfully include them is that, quite simply, they’re part of the canon! In fact, most 02 fans like Adventure too, so they like the way 02 built on Adventure’s worldbuilding, and moreover they’re attached to the web of relationships between the Adventure and 02 groups -- 02′s additions to Adventure’s worldbuilding and the nature of what it established around the neighborhoods of Odaiba and Tamachi were not only added on but also deeply entangled with what was established before, so you can’t just act like none of it exists!

So this also means that once we’re talking about a completely different universe, absolutely none of this applies and there’s no expectations to adhere to any of this. The 02 quartet doesn’t exist in this universe? Cool.

Funny thing about 02: one of the biggest themes the story revolved around was “not getting caught up in the past, and moving forward with what you have instead,” so it’s probably pretty understandable that a lot of people who like 02 would be the type who wouldn’t be fond of rehashing stuff too much (and even more so it involves 02 itself), especially since being okay with 02 as a sequel likely means being okay with change in general. To make something really new out of it, you might as well...actually make something new out of it, or cover some truly new territory, instead of bothering with this whole reboot business, you know?

One thing you might notice about a lot of 02 fans is that they’re not actually all that fond of the idea of canon putting the group through more massive suffering or emotional ordeals after 02 compared to most. I mean, I think it’s pretty normal to enjoy your favorite characters going through emotional trouble, but the aversion to it often tends to be much stronger than usual, regardless of what country’s fanbase we’re talking, and even the official staff for Kizuna seems to have somewhat recognized that the 02 group is most in its element when in the context of fun and silliness. All things considered, this probably isn’t particularly surprising when you take into account the fact that “just being able to hang out with each other as casual friends at all” was considered such a blessing, and such a difficult goal to reach, that there’s a natural aversion to seeing them go through more emotional suffering again. The new trailer for the upcoming movie seems to have Daisuke in a relatively good mood (and even then, “please don’t make it too emotionally vicious for them” is a pretty common plea).

So if you want to talk about rehashing all of their old problems, seeing it all over again is just not very fun. It’s like holding Ken’s sins over his head again, even if it’s in a different universe; it just doesn’t feel right when the series itself endorsed the best possible outcome for these kids to be “to live happily and at peace with themselves, no matter what happened beforehand”. They worked so hard to get out of it, so to decide we have to do this entire rodeo again for the sake of doing it again, instead of trying something new is...well, it’s not that appealing of an idea, I have to say.

The real-life impact would be intolerable

It’s no secret that the 02 hatedom is a bit uncomfortably vocal about it, but what tends to be really frustrating about it is how many of them love to dunk on the series based on misremembering it. It’s fair that, if you don’t like a series, you probably wouldn’t want to watch it again, but as someone who’s spent a lot of years unpacking all the little details in the series and noticing that it’s much deeper than it initially seems on the surface, it’s honestly annoying to see “criticism” of the series that’s actually just dunking on it based on details that are genuinely factually incorrect (it’d be one thing if it were a question of subjectivity, but no, so many of the insults 02 often gets are based on things that legitimately did not happen in the series).

In the end, I admit that 02′s penchant for ridiculous subtlety probably worked against it a bit too much, and I’ve already covered its impact on how the series gets misread a lot. Thing is, this kind of subtlety was a thing in Adventure too, and it all leads to the unfortunate effect that a lot of people tend to forget what actually happened in Adventure if they haven’t seen it for more than a few years. With the current reboot right now, you’ll see people saying that certain characters are the same as they were in the original series, even though in most respects they’re actually the opposite -- because a lot of said people only remember them by the surface characteristics that seem to be similar.

So when you look at 02, and consider the fact that even official media -- including the official American English dub and V-Tamer -- has been a bit too prone to not handling Daisuke’s character tastefully and reducing him to traits that make him easy to dislike, you might realize that handling these characters improperly runs an extremely high risk of actually turning them into the flat, unlikeable characters that people tend to accuse them of being -- imagine Daisuke where his entire character is about fixating over Hikari and being impulsive, or Miyako being nothing but self-centered and selfish, or Iori being genuinely stoic and missing the nuances of constantly holding his emotions back. And making it worse is that this would basically solidify these negative perceptions of the characters even further -- because people, especially those inclined to hate the series, would take it as further evidence that the characters have always been like this, reflect it back on the original, and everything would really just become a miserable experience. (Those who are particularly inclined to be malicious against 02 would probably even claim a reboot to be “better than the original” no matter whatever it is, because of the belief that 02 is so incredibly terrible that literally anything would be better than it.)

It’s not my business to dictate other people’s opinions, but it’s already been a frustrating twenty years of dealing with this kind of thing, so of course I’m not going to be enthusiastic about the idea of putting up with more of it...

#digimon #digimon adventure 02

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lemonsandstrawberries · 4 years

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The Pitted Olive, part 10 - final

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony)

universe: Drag Queen!AU (Tony Stark as a drag queen)

summary: Steve gets the courage to ask Tony a very important question, all in a style worthy of his drag queen! Sam takes a new step in his life, friends gather and someone special makes an appearance.

length: 6 845 words

disclaimer: this fic is written strictly for entertainment. I am not a specialist on drag and my whole knowledge comes from mainstream media. if there is something you will find incorrect or offensive in any way, there is always an option to contact me and politely voice your thoughts instead of flaming. thanks!

a/n: that’s is it, the big finale! thank you, Ru Paul’s Drag Race for inspiration and introducing some wonderful drag queens into our lives! (some drag queens will make a guest appearance in this chapter, so be on a lookout - also, more a/n notes at the end of the chapter). thank you for reading, your support and love for this fic! if you enjoyed the series and last chapter, asks, reblogs and likes are appreciated and needed!

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The Pitted Olive, part 10 - final

(part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9)

It felt nice. Warm and soothing. Smelled like lemons and sugar. Really, really nice.

It was all a trap.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Steve grunted, curling on the stool in the bathroom, only in his boxers. There was more warmth on his back and he felt the scrape of a wooden spatula on his skin, smearing the sticky substance.

"Hmmm. I am very convincing," Tony hummed from behind Steve, clad in his obscenely short bathrobe and only that. Oh, how Steve loved that bathrobe.

"I am gonna cry. I know I will," Steve grew more and more nervous, pressed his palm over his eyes, and curled more in himself. "And stop that."

"Stop what?" Tony asked innocently, pressing the long stripe of material to Steve's back and smoothing over the sticky substance. Oh God, it almost started.

"Snickering at me," Steve complained, trying not to sound too pathetic. Judging by the giggle behind him, he obviously failed.

"You will be fine. If I can survive this, so can you."

Steve had serious doubts if he could survive back waxing. Or back sugaring, as Tony used his homemade sugar paste on him, claiming that it was more delicate than traditional wax and there was minimal risk of ripping off the outer skin layer. That didn't alarm Steve at all.

"You're gonna be so smooth after this," Tony hummed enticingly, still rubbing the stripe making sure it would catch as much hair as possible. "I won't be able to get my hands off of you," he said, leaning his warm weight over Steve's, the cool satin feeling pleasantly slippery and soothing on his skin.

Somehow from being too shy to pee in front of the other, their relationship developed to this. That was some progress.

"Okay, ready?"

That was a good question and meant so much more than Tony initially intended to. Steve felt more and more ready. There was no other person for him than Tony. No other tiny bathrobe he would be seeing for the rest of his life.

"I am gonna count to three. One, two, three!"

There was a ripping sound and Steve felt every hair pulled out from his skin. His mouth opened in a scream, eyes watered from the pain.

"SON OF A -!"

Tony whistled, examining the strap. "Woah, that came off nicely."

"Nicely?!" Steve squeaked out, the pain still prickling his nerve endings. It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat. How Tony could do it to himself every month?

"Now we need to repeat it a few more times -"

"Nu-uh! I am out!" Steve protested, one time being enough. He darted off the stool, just to be firmly pushed down again.

"If you let me do it, you and Red Velvet will -" Tony leaned to him, whispering something into his ear, words that made Steve's blood immediately flow south of his body and culminate at one point. That was unfair.

"I hate you," Steve groaned, but obediently stayed on the stool. Call him weak.

"You know you love me," Tony said sounding too cheerful and spreading more of the sugar paste on Steve's broad back.

Steve knew. He really knew. And he wanted everyone else to know it too.

***

If Steve was still debating being ready to take that step with Tony, the ultimate reassurance came days later from a very unexpected place.

"You are the worst best friend, you know that?"

Steve blinked, seeing Tootsie, standing in front of his usual table in the Olive, full lips turned down in an upside-down u shape, eyes, framed with thick eyelashes and black eyeliner, shooting daggers at him. She wore her usual grungy style of clothing, torn flannel and tights, chunky earrings that were painful to even look at, and shorts so tiny and revealing as if Bucky wanted to make a statement that he was able to tuck perfectly, despite the origin of his drag name.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, not understanding what happened. He came into the bar just minutes ago and didn't have time to do anything yet, except maybe chatting to Thor at the front and sitting at his table.

"Why, why the hell you gave Red our childhood photos?!" Tootsie hissed, eyes narrowing even more.

Oooh. So that was the offense.

"I didn't, my mom did," Steve explained with a shrug, but Tootsie didn't even listen to him, just ranted away.

"Do you know what she is doing now? Do you? She kept showing those photos to everyone and going on and on how cute her drag daughter is. Do you have any idea what it does to my reputation?"

Steve just smiled, not seeing a connection why photos of a pair of kids in dungarees and with bruised faces could be so harmful.

"Red is just very proud of you," Steve kept smiling, easily picturing Tony going from one person to the other one, showing the photos to everyone who didn't manage to escape on time.

Tootsie waved him off. "I tried to steal them, but she made copies. She even stuck some on the mirror in her dressing room!"

"That's sweet," Steve said, laughing when Bucky cursed, which was a lot less sweet, but a whole lot more amusing. "I don't know why you are so upset about this."

"It's embarrassing, okay?" Tootsie hissed. Steve didn't know if she meant Red's overly motherly behavior or the fact that his friends and coworkers knew that kid Tootsie used to have a bowl cut, just like half of the kids back in those times.

Clearly, Tootsie waited for something, but Steve just shrugged again, really not seeing any problem.

"I will pour laxatives in your drink," Tootsie seethed.

Oh, low blow.

"You wouldn't," Steve narrowed his eyes back at his best friend.

"I would. You are just lucky I am not the one making drinks today."

Just to be sure, Steve glanced over at the bar, and saw Arrow behind it, skillfully mixing some cocktails. Next to her, was a new person, Steve had never seen before.

"I already put an order for your drink, because opposite to you, I am a good, loyal friend," Tootsie summed up their conversation.

Steve huffed in laughter. "Thanks, Buck," Steve said, the name coming out almost inaudible and more like a sigh to a nonskilled ear, but the lip movement was enough for Tootsie to decode the word. A little placated, she walked away, having to prepare for tonight's show.

"Here's your drink."

"Thank you," Steve smiled at the new girl as she put his drink on the table, and she smiled back at him, and Steve almost slid down from his seat in shock. He would recognize that teeth gap anywhere. "Oh my God, Sam?!" he shrilled out, trying to keep his voice low.

The girl jutted her left hip forward and shook her head full of curly hair. Sharp eyebrows, long eyelashes, big lips colored with an electric blue lipstick giving that special pop to the look and tight black dress made from lace. Not the most extravagant look Steve had seen on a drag queen, but there was something hypnotic about it.

"That's Parfait," the girl said, winking at Steve and walking away on black pumps with a sturdy heel, a model that was favored by people learning how to walk on high heels. Steve looked after Parfait, smiling to himself gleefully. It seemed that some changes were coming to the Mama's Little Bakery.

Sipping his drink, Steve listened to Tootsie, singing her rock songs and planning even more changes.

***

"Hey, Thor!"

"Hey, Steve," the blond bodyguard of the Pitted Olive smiled friendly at him. "Coming from the front today?"

"Um, not really, I just have some favor to ask," Steve smiled shyly, scratching the back of his head. "I will have some guests coming today, could you make sure they get to my usual table?"

Thor sent Steve a calculating look, not really keen on fulfilling the unusual request. After all, he was a bouncer and a bodyguard and it seemed more of a task for Arrow who had waitress duty today. Thor was ready to refuse, politely, of course, when Steve smiled broader, that bright, sunny smile that made him resemble a labrador puppy. And Thor liked labradors.

"Fine," reluctantly, Thor agreed. The things he did for regulars.

"Thanks!" Steve beamed more, "I have to set up some details now, I will send photos to your phone of who to expect."

Thor nodded. "Nice jacket, by the way."

Steve laughed nervously, feeling his cheeks heat up, unsure if it was a genuine compliment. "Thanks. I will see you later!" he waved goodbye to Thor and took his usual route to enter the club from the back.

Everything seemed to go well and Steve's heart was beating a cheerful melody. Even the expected, sour look Loki had sent him after he had entered the club, didn't bring him down. He stopped in front of Red's changing room, combing a hand through his hair, rehearsing in his mind what he wanted to say.

"Hey, nice jacket!" Arrow passed him and praised with an approving smile, on the way to her changing room. Steve smiled gratefully, feeling a lot more confident with having a drag queen's approval, especially one as much fashion-oriented as Arrow. He reached his hand to knock on the door to Red's changing room, feeling his heart in his throat.

He didn't let anyone on his plan and so far, everything was going good. The only person who knew what was about to happen was the owner of the Pitted Olive, an exceptionally somber-looking guy named Nick Fury, who, as Tony had told him, was once a very famous drag queen back in the day called Madam Wrath. A very fitting name.

Steve knocked on the door and entered after hearing Red inviting him in.

"Oh good, you're here!" Red called, turning around for a second, just to see who it was. Steve had walked on Tony in the middle of his transformation, he already had a face full of makeup, except the lipstick, hair hidden under the cap and was changing his clothes, already tucked in and in pantyhose and clearly struggling with a bra. It wasn't the most glamorous part of being a drag queen, but the view of Tony's shapely legs in sheen pantyhose caused Steve's heart to do a little flip. "Can you clasp my bra?" Tony asked, turning his back to Steve, holding the strap in each hand.

"Sure," Steve replied immediately, coming to the rescue. A moment later, the bra was on.

"Thanks," Red smiled, fixing the front of a lovely auburn color bra with lace on top. "It is a new bra, it doesn't want to listen to me - oh," she stopped talking when turned around and finally took a good look at Steve and his new style.

Maybe it wasn't the intention, but the first thing that came to Red's mind was that Prince Charming from "Cinderella" stood in front of her. Steve was wearing a shawl collar jacket, white shirt underneath and black slacks, and a black bowtie to match the whole look. It would be a very calm, classic set if it wasn't for the material the jacket was made of. Blue velvet. Shining and shimmering with a light blue undertone.

Red's blinked in shock, her big blue eyes framed in thick fake lashes and black eyeliner appearing even bigger before she smiled warmly at her boyfriend. "You look very handsome today," she said, approving the look, "is there some special occasion?" came a question and there was some flirting hint underneath.

A very special.

"Well, since you asked."

And then Steve got on one knee in front of her and took a black velvet jewelry box out of his pocket.

"Woah!" Red gasped, and her hands jumped up to her face in shock, a very Tony like gesture, before she toned it down and pressed one hand to her lips. "Steve, what's happening?" she asked, her hand sliding down, just a little to not obscure the words.

Steve just smiled gently, knowing all the words he wanted to say and guided by all the feelings he had felt since he saw Red Velvet for the first time and since his first non-date with Tony. Tony was someone truly special, changing his life and making it better, just by his presence. He helped find Steve the courage in places he didn't expect to ever be courageous, was understanding and kind, and just seemed to make Steve's world a brighter place. And when someone finds something so special, they should never let go of it.

So, he opened the box.

"From the moment I saw you, I felt like I was living in a dream. I was smitten by Red Velvet, some may call it an obsession," Steve said, laughing a bit and having Sam's face in his mind, "but it wasn't until I saw you, the real you, when I realized that reality can be better than dreams. I love and want all of you, and I hope you will take all of me too. So, Tony Stark and Red Velvet, will you marry me?"

Red's breath stopped when she saw the ring on the black insert. She looked back at Steve, eyes glistening with emotions, and said something Steve certainly didn't expect but found very fitting.

"I am glad I didn't get dressed yet, because, shit, I would have to change."

Then he heard a 'yes' and it was a good thing Red never did her lips makeup because it would get ruined anyway.

***

Sarah arrived about ten minutes earlier than Steve asked her to, firm in her belief that it was better to be a bit earlier and wait instead of being late and making someone wait for her, a view she successfully passed to her only son. That's why she expected Steve to already wait for her and she really wished he did, not understanding why her son asked her to come. Sarah looked from her phone to the brightly shining neon, unsure if Steve gave her the correct address. The name was the same, but the reality didn't match her expectations. The Pitted Olive in her head was a name suitable for an Italian restaurant and not for something that looked like a night cocktail bar. Besides, her son didn't drink a lot of alcohol and was more of a beer guy than a cocktail person, so why he invited her to a bar and sounded so urgent about it?

"Mrs. Rogers?"

"Yes?" Sarah turned in the direction of the voice, getting startled when met eye to eye with the muscled, grim looking bouncer. She had to raise some suspicion by lurking around the entrance to the bar, but then she realized that the bouncer knew her name. When the bouncer smiled, his face changed from intimidating to kinder one, showing that he had a gentle heart.

"I was asked to escort you to your table. Please come with me," the bouncer said, swiftly navigating through the crowd of customers gathering outside the Olive and Sarah followed.

Sarah followed the bouncer, feeling a little overwhelmed. The interior of the night bar was cozy, with nice, wooden furniture and subtly lit, giving a private, comfortable feeling.

"Please take a seat," the bouncer asked, moving the chair for her at the table in the front, near the stage Sarah just noticed. "If you allow me, I will take your coat."

"Uh, thank you, mister…?" Sarah asked, handing the bouncer her light coat and sitting down.

"Just Thor will be enough. I wish you a nice evening, ma'am," Thor smiled gallantly and went to resume his position in front of the club.

The temporary comfortable feeling was gone again and Sarah felt out of place once more. She had an open mind and was willing to accept many things, but didn't like to be lead astray. She was a patient woman, but enough was enough. Sarah opened her bag and reached for the phone when she noticed a familiar face near the bar and a smile immediately jumped on her lips. "Sam!" she called, waving to Steve's friend.

Sam, engrossed in a conversation with a pretty young girl behind the bar, turned around, blinking surprised when he saw Steve's mom. "Mrs. Rogers!" Sam called and waved back, turning to Tootsie to tell her a few words, before he took his beer and came closer. "Hello, Mrs. Rogers," he greeted her properly, leaning down so Sarah could smooch his cheek.

"It is good to see you, Sam," Sarah smiled, feeling at ease after meeting someone familiar. "How is your bakery doing?"

"Good, good," Sam smiled, taking a seat next to her and Sarah kept smiling, hearing that that deeply hidden tensed note that had always been in Sam's voice whenever he talked about his work was gone. Just like if something got unblocked in him. "Mrs. Rogers, what are you doing here?" Sam asked, not understanding.

"Steve asked me to come. He said he has something important to tell me - oh," she gasped, suddenly realizing where she was. "Oh, is this where Tony works?"

"Hello."

An unknown man and a woman approached the table, their arms hooked together.

"We are Red's friends, she told us to be here today," the woman said with a nice smile, waving to Tootsie behind the bar, the girl waving back at her. "I am Lady Mint," the woman said, gesturing to herself. She looked quite colorful, in a multicolored tie-dye kaftan, beautiful makeup and with a head full of platinum blond hair reaching her chin, teased and puffed out to perfection. "And this handsome man is James Rhodes," she introduced and the man smiled friendly.

"You can call me Rhodey," he said, nodding first to Sarah and reaching her hand to her, before shaking Sam's hand and Sam introduced himself, while Lady Mint sat next to Sarah on a chair that had been pulled out for her by Rhodey.

"And let me guess, you must be Steve's mom! I can tell because you both have that lovely face structure," Lady Mint said friendly and Sarah just couldn't take eyes off of the colorful and beautiful person next to her.

"Wow, you're so gorgeous," Sarah said, instead of the usual hello, and Mint smiled gratefully. "I am sorry I am staring, it is just the first time I am seeing a drag queen up close. Sorry! Is that something I shouldn't say?" she grimaced in panic and looked over at Sam, silently asking for help. Sam just smiled good-naturedly, because this was so like Steve's mom to be so honest and mindful at the same time.

"Don't worry, dear, if I didn't want people to look at me, I wouldn't dress the way I do," Mint said, fixing her hair and making it even puffier. It brought attention to her nails, long and painted with mint color nail polish with some crystals at the tips. "I met your son once at Red's apartment. You have a very charming son, Mrs. Rogers."

"Oh, thank you. You can call me Sarah by the way," Sarah said, smiling and addressing both Rhodey and Mint. "So, from where do you know Tony?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Tony and I started drag at the same time. The drag community was much smaller back then, all performers knew each other," Mint answered with a polite smile.

"I work with Tony, we have a business together," Rhodey said his story.

"Oh, you are a drag queen too?" Sarah beamed, more and more intrigued.

Rhodey laughed and shook his head. "No, ma'am. I meant Tony's day job, we own a few car workshops."

"But that's a pity, right?" Mint jumped in, grabbing Rhodey by the arm. "He would make such a pretty girl!"

The conversation continued, drinks were served (Grasshopper for Lady Mint, Whisky Sour for Rhodey, and Sarah got talked into ordering Barbara, which was a mix of vodka, cacao liquor, cream and milk, the sweet flavor overpowering vodka and making the whole drink smoother and subtle on the tongue, and a refill of beer for Sam) as the club was slowly filling up with steady customers and newcomers. Sam and Rhodey found a common language, discussing the details of Rhodey's work and all the prime brands he got to tinker with, while Sarah and Lady Mint were chatting it up, just discussing everything, when it was interrupted by dimming lights and limelight pointed at the small stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Loki's mellow voice announced through the speaker, "please welcome our first performer of the night, the sweetest cake in town, Miss Red Velvet."

The silver curtain was pushed open and Red Velvet walked on the stage in a round of applause and almost a collective gasp echoed through the audience. There was no doubt, that the woman on stage was Red Velvet, even if at first glance she didn't look like it. The dress she chose was simple in cut, long and draping over the floor, with subtly widening sleeves covering wrists and a jewel neckline, hiding collarbones, almost not showing any skin. It was tight, accentuating the perky butt and round hips and a lovely hourglass figure. The most surprising was the choice of the material - it wasn't red, but all gold and shimmering, a little bit crinkling and catching light from every angle. Red Velvet looked as if someone poured gold over her body and let the precious metal set, shaping a dress over her. Such rich dress didn't require any fancy hairstyle and her black hair was combed neatly to the back and forming a low bun. Red smiled, light falling on her radiant face and glossy, red lips.

"Is that Tony?" Sarah asked in a surprised whisper, leaning closer to Sam and clapping enthusiastically with everyone else. Impressed was not a big enough word. She saw some of Tony's drag looks earlier, but only in photos and seeing this beautiful woman live was a different experience.

Sam nodded, not understanding the change and glancing over at other drag queens in the bar, but everyone seemed puzzled as he was.

"Good evening," Red Velvet kept smiling and the applause dimmed. Red took the microphone in her hand and started walking on the stage, her dress swiping over the floor. "I know you all noticed something different about me today," she said in a playful tone, getting a small laugh from the audience. "But this is not the end of surprises. First, I want to tell you a story. Some time ago, I met this guy," some suggestive whistling from the audience and Red winked, "this very special guy. One of a kind, but I am sure you already know this story, a guy meets a guy, they fall in love, yada yada yada," she rushed her own monologue, wanting to get to the gist faster. "And everything is great. Wonderful. And then… it happens. Just like that," she snapped her fingers, building the tension. "So I sadly inform you all, that this is one of my last performances as Miss Red Velvet," she said in a sorry tone, nodding her head sympathetically and rising a disappointed whine from the audience. Before the sad mood could start for good, she shook the sleeve on her left arm, letting it slide down and putting it out for everyone to see. "Because very soon I am gonna be Mrs. Red Velvet, I am engaged, bitches!" she shouted with a big smile, a gold ring with a row of diamonds shining on her finger.

The outburst of happiness was overwhelming and certainly drawing out the harsh sound as if someone dropped a microphone down. Sarah pressed both hands to her face, hoping that it was all going in a direction she thought it was going, Sam stared and clapped almost mindlessly, while Rhodey blinked surprised, and Mint tried to get Tootsie's attention to ask what was going on, but Tootsie, together with Arrow, were absolutely going wild behind the bar, probably cheering the loudest.

"And now, I would like you all to meet him," Red said into the mike, trying to be louder than everybody, "you probably already seen him," she added in a playful jab, meaning Steve's almost stalking her, "but it is the first time you will really meet him, my personal Prince Charming, my future husband, Mr. Blue Velvet! Come on, hun!" she called, gesturing at the silver curtain.

Steve's appearance was met with more applause as he entered the stage in his blue velvet jacket, smiling insecurely, but clearly happy. After having a final confirmation, Sarah sobbed into her hands from happiness, and Rhodey, Mint, and Sam stood up, joining the cheering for the just engaged couple. Steve walked to Red and put an arm around his lady, and they kissed briefly, Red cupping Steve's face tenderly. Usually, Tony had to stand on his tiptoes or pull Steve down into a kiss, but thanks to high heels, Steve had to tilt his head up just a bit, Red slightly higher than him.

"Drinks are on me tonight!" Red called, raising her hand, adding to the applause and cheering. "Tootsie, hide the most expensive liquor," she added after a while to her drag daughter, of course speaking into the microphone in an exaggerated whisper for everyone to hear and laugh at, and Tootsie saluted at her drag mom.

It was as happy as it could be, and Steve and Red were getting lost in each other when the final person and a very late guest showed up.

"Excuse me, coming through, EXCUSE ME!"

A harsh voice cut through the cheer and Red almost fell off the stage in shock when another limelight fell on the newcomer. The club exploded with a new level of cheer when people realized who just entered the club. A black sequin dress, a big updo of red, curly hair with straight bangs and black hairband. Big eyelashes, big red lips, and dimples on each cheek.

"Is this the joint my daughter performs at?!" Bianca del Rio shouted in her microphone in her characteristic loud voice, everyone clapping at her and confirming. "Good, because all those bars smell the same to me," more laughter when Bianca displayed some of her typical sarcastic humor, "and where is my lovely - DEAR GOD, Red, is that you?!" she bellowed out, looking at the stage and at still shocked Red Velvet, "what happened to you?! You look TERRIBLE!" she added, meaning the lack of her trademark color.

Red Velvet seemed speechless, while the crowd laughed at the playful remark. Steve had to bump his shoulder with Red's, trying to break her out of the trance, and put the mic to her lips, urging her to speak.

"Em, uhm-" was all that came out of Red Velvet's mouth and Bianca put one hand on her hip and glowered in a very motherly fashion.

"Just like mom taught you. Is that a way to speak to your mother?!" Bianca yelled and the crowd laughed, enjoying this mother-daughter encounter.

"Uh, what are you doing here, man?" Red finally asked, sounding a lot more like Tony, than Red Velvet. Bianca del Rio was a busy woman, traveling and performing all around the globe since she won that show which name slipped Tony's mind.

Bianca shook her head in reprimand, but smiled in the end, her cheek dimples showing again. "Your lovely boyfriend invited me here! He can be a persistent one," she said, gesturing at Steve. Red whipped her head and stared at Steve in shock and he smiled sheepishly. Reaching Bianca wasn't easy, but he wanted all of Tony's friends to share this moment with him. "I guess he is not your boyfriend any longer though! So, just let me congratulate you both and I am just gonna sit quietly here and enjoy the show," she added, turning her voice down, pointing at the table where Sarah, Sam, Rhodey and Lady Mint were sitting at, Thor already putting another chair for her, between Sarah and Lady Mint. "Thank you, darling!" she smiled at Thor and turned to the people at the table. "Hi, I am Bianca del Rio," she reached her hand to greet everyone, "you must be Steve's mom?" she said looking at Sarah, who seemed stunned but pleased, not really understanding everything that was going around her, but delighted to be a part of it, "kids grow up so fast, right?" she sniffled exaggeratedly and sat down.

From there it went smoothly and Red Velvet performed a spontaneous singing duet with her fiancé before singing her usual repertoire, Arrow did a magic act out of her routine, Tootsie sang some heavy songs, and even Lady Mint and Bianca got talked into performing. Halfway the night, Sam had sneaked out to his bakery, and with Rhodey's help, rolled in trays of white sheet cakes, covered in vanilla buttercream and decorated with piped out roses and written congratulations to Red and Steve and everyone got a slice, wishing the newly engaged couple all the best.

It was a long, cheerful evening and one of a kind engagement party.

***

"Morning, Sam!"

"Hey," Sam smiled a toothy smile when Steve walked into Momma's Little Bakery. It was as pink and frilly as always, but Sam seemed much more relaxed, busing at the counter and stacking freshly made buns and cookies for the early customers, already in his white and pristine work clothes. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, thanks," Steve smiled back, breathing in the scent of fresh pastries. Yesterday was a great night. It still felt a little unreal to him, having a fiancé, but seeing the engagement ring on Tony's finger while he had leaned down to kiss his sleeping queen and went out to get some fresh bread for breakfast was a very real reminder. "Do you have any brioches today? I want to make French toasts for Tony's breakfast."

"Yeah, I had a feeling you might want one," Sam nodded, turning to the shelves and taking off a perfectly baked brioche, light and fluffy, gold and shiny, and put it in a paper bag. "I have fresh baguettes too, will pack you a one. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Steve smiled, leaning on the counter, with a bright grin. "Soooo... Blue lips, huh?"

Sam waved the baguette in warning at this friend but smiled back. It wasn't something he ever imagined himself doing, but overall it was a fun experience. Maybe Parfait would appear in the Pitted Olive from time to time. Steve enjoyed seeing Sam like that, more opened and relaxed, the previous tension gone. Getting in touch with his female side did a great thing for Sam.

"You should try it too by the way," Sam said, handing Steve a bag with bread, and not knowing when Sam had sneaked a small round loaf of sourdough inside. "Being in drag," Sam hinted when Steve didn't catch on.

"Aaah, I don't know," Steve said, awkwardly. He was happy for Sam, and anyone who found their calling in drag but wasn't sure if it was for him, even if Tony subtly tried to convince him to wear drag, even once. And well, he already wore high heels. And used facial masks. And waxed. Was that the next step? Just to see how it is to be 'on the other side'? "Maybe? But I am not getting married in a dress," Steve said quickly before anything could pop into his friend's mind.

Sam whistled. "Believe me, no one wants to see that, pal."

Steve laughed. "Hey, what's that-"

"Man, why it is so loud in here?!"

Steve heard a voice and stared when he saw Bucky, standing in the doorway leading to the backspace. Hair ruffled from sleep, some smudged makeup under his eyes, and a spare set of white clothes, shirt, and pants, Sam used while baking, all crumpled. Comparing to Sam's work look, Bucky looked like a total mess.

"Buck, what are you doing here?" Steve asked, watching Bucky yawning and snatching a fluffy bun from the display, hearing Sam's hiss to not touch the bread.

"Uh, your engagement party went on and on, and by the time it finished, I was too tired to get to my own place, so Sam allowed me to crash on the couch in his bakery," Bucky explained in a bread obscured hum.

"Wait, you didn't go home?" Steve turned to Sam, not understanding.

Sam shrugged, "I start baking at 5 am. There was no point."

"Oh man," Steve's voice dropped and he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling bad. Seemed that because of him, none of his friends got any decent rest, while he and Tony cuddled for the whole night, feeling blissful and in love. "Sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Sam snorted, and Bucky would do the same if he wasn't devouring the bun in greedy bites. "It is not every day when your best friend gets engaged, it is all good."

"Hm," Steve smiled softly, grateful for that point of view. Sam always supported him. Bucky was back in the city. And he had Tony. Everything was turning out so good.

"Also, not gonna lie, I am letting this one slide, because I want to be the one to bake your wedding cake," Sam added.

Steve laughed and nodded, agreeing, not imagining anyone else in that role. Sam could do some amazing things and uniquely combine flavors. There was no one better for the job.

"Besides," Bucky swallowed the bun down, "someone had to help Sam get out of the dress anyway."

"Please, no details," Sam sighed, warning Bucky who grinned mischievously.

"Oh, I want to hear all the details," Steve leaned in with a cheerful smile. "But maybe later, I have to get back to Tony, but first I want to know - why Parfait?"

"Par-fè," Sam corrected, using French pronunciation, ignoring the way Bucky ostentatiously rolled his eyes, "because it has layers."

That was a reasonable explanation. Steve nodded, knowing that there was more to his friend than just the outer layer, of a seemingly tough guy who grew up in a problematic neighborhood. Sam loved to bake good, honest bread but also had a knack for decorating cupcakes and cookies making them look like something from a fairy tale land. It was a good name for him.

"Hah!" Bucky laughed, bringing attention to him. "You know what also has layers? Onions."

"At least I tucked in properly at my first attempt!" Sam defended his name choice while ridiculing the origin of Bucky's drag name. Tootsie Roll was a good name too.

"Yeah, because I showed you how!"

"Okay, you are in my bakery now, so you either stop being a smartass and I will let you have another roll, or you can get your stuff and go home, you have an evening show," Sam gave Bucky a choice.

Bucky opened his mouth to snark back, but zipped it, looking at all the freshly baked bread and rolls. Well, he would be a fool to get himself kicked out from bread heaven...

Steve laughed to himself, watching pleased looking Sam handing a hungry Bucky another roll, his friend biting right into the soft, baked goodness. Bucky wouldn't be Bucky if he didn't add something, and he kept muttering more things that had layers between the bites, including ogres and, for some unknown reason, witchers. They chatted for a bit longer and when first customers started to line up, Steve took his bag with bread and headed home, back to his fiancé, his steps as light as air.

***

When Steve walked back into the apartment, it was barely after 9 am. He knew that Tony liked to sleep in after his shows, and Steve was really surprised when he heard Tony's voice, high and excited, coming from the bedroom.

"Babe? You awake?" Steve asked, peeking into the bedroom, still holding the bag with bread in his hands.

"Oh, hi!" Tony, flat on his stomach and on the top of the covers, wearing nothing except his short, silk robe, lay in the middle of the bed, swinging feet in the air, his phone pressed to his ear. He turned to Steve briefly, smiling sweetly. "Yeah, my fiancé just walked in," he said, addressing the person on the other side of the line, "yhm. Latrice says hi!"

"Um, hi," Steve blinked, not knowing who Latrice was and why was calling Tony so early. Then he realized, that it probably was a stage name and Latrice was one of Red Velvet's sisters. Mr. Blue Velvet and Miss Red Velvet's, as they were dubbed in the Olive yesterday, engagement was no secret, photos from the event already going around on social media.

"It's been calling since you left," Tony laughed, pointing at his phone, confirming Steve's theory. Ah, phone calls with congratulations. The word spread quickly in the drag queen's world. That just gave Steve some time to make breakfast. He leaned down and quickly smooched Tony's, already puckered up lips, and walked out of the bedroom, still hearing Tony's voice.

"No, I didn't expect it! Yeah, a total surprise. What do you mean by about time?! Girl, you are older than I am and got married two years ago! By the way, my invitation still didn't arrive. I know, right? Damn post, always losing things..."

Steve took off his shoes and washed his hands, before preparing breakfast. Something simple and tasty, so he sliced some fruit and put on the platter, preparing the eggs and milk mixture for the French toasts. He sliced some thick pieces of the soft brioche, wanting it to soak nicely, but before that, he would have to call Tony over, so the brioche won't fall apart. Steve entered the bedroom, seeing Tony in the exact same position, still going on and on on the phone, not even noticing him.

"Yeah - eep," Tony made a high pitched sound, feeling fingers walking down his heel. Across the sole, and Tony had to bite a laugh down, and then fingers hooked around his ankle, dragging him on the bed. "Ah, Latrice, sorry, I gotta go, fiancé fever, you know how it is, stay fabulous, love you girl, byeeee!" Tony squeezed many words into the short moment, in which Steve pulled him close, surprising Tony with a long kiss.

"Mhm," Tony hummed contentedly, turning to better face Steve and wrapped hands around his, officially, fiancé's neck, pressing their bodies together. That short bathrobe and a ring on Tony's finger - it was everything Steve wanted to see for the rest of his life.

"Are you done talking?" Steve asked into the kiss.

"Only if you have some better proposition for me," Tony fluttered his eyelashes in a flirty move. As an encouragement, Steve kissed him again, long and sweet, letting the feeling linger.

"French toasts for breakfast?" Steve asked after the kiss ended, leaving Tony a bit breathless and starry-eyed.

"You read my mind," Tony giggled happily, letting Steve pull him up from the bed. It was high time for them both to spend some time together and a shared breakfast was a good start.

Until Tony's phone started to ring again.

"Oh," Tony looked at the screen and Steve did too, seeing a face in full makeup, the photo signed Manilla. "Can I...?" Tony asked, smiling shyly and gesturing at his phone, abandoned in the covers.

Steve sighed dramatically. He liked to think that Tony belonged only to him, but Red Velvet had many sisters that clearly wanted to congratulate her and be a part of the big day. What kind of fiancé Steve would be if he denied Tony that?

"The last one," Steve negotiated, pulling Tony closer and wrapping hands possessively around his lover, "and then I want you all to myself," he said, obscenely groping Tony's round butt, just to make a point.

Tony giggled again, clearly delighted with Steve being so handsy. "Okay," he agreed, plopping down on the covers again, "the last one before breakfast! Aaah!" Tony squeaked, when Steve sunk down right after him, trying to unwrap his fiancé from the tiny bathrobe, just like one unwraps a present, all accompanied by Tony's excited laughter, Steve's hungry growling, and the melody of 'I want to break free' by Queen, Tony had set as a ringtone.

Breakfast could wait. Tony could call back. But their life as an engaged couple started right now and it was a moment Steve didn't want to share with anyone. Only him, Tony and Red Velvet.

'I've fallen in love for the first time. And this time I know it's for real. I've fallen in love, yeah. God knows, God knows I've fallen in love.'

————-

<– previous part

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ta-dam, the big reveal of Tony's drag mom! also, some more of my fav drag queens got a shout-out. Sam's drag name was created by @roshytsunami, thank you for following this story! Steve's outfit is the outfit Chris Evans had on during Oscar Gala in 2019, if you are wondering.

————-

tag list

@destiel-is-classic, @prithvik , @azurixx , @mangakats, @mystey-writes,@w1nters-stark, gloriousmarvellokiturtle, @the-pop-culture-geek

#stony #SUPERHUSBANDS #steve rogers #tony stark #drag queen #drag queen AU #au #the pitted olive #the pitted olive fic #fanfic #fanfiction

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

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Are you an aunt or an uncle? Nope. Who did you last hug? My mom. Did you get anything super cool for Christmas? I got the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Where are the majority of your clothes? In my dresser. I have a pile on my bed and some stuff hung up in the closet as well. Will your next kiss be a mistake? I would hope not? I never understand this question.

Have you ever wanted to be a marine? No. Is beer good or nasty to you? Blech, I never cared for it. Who took your default picture? Myself. Have you ever had your tonsils taken out? Nope. Who was the last person to make you smile? My mom. Were you pissed off when you woke up today? No. Are you single / taken / crushing / confused? I’m very single. There’s not even anyone I’m interested in or talking to currently. Would you rather have a hookup or a relationship? A relationship. Are gonna have a baby by the time you’re 18? I’m 31 and baby free. I don’t want to have children. Does your mommy still do your laundry? She does. I need help with certain things and laundry is one of them. Will you be dating anyone in the next two weeks? Nope. Or anytime soon. Do you still care for your first love? I don’t have romantic feelings for him anymore, but yeah I’ll always care. Has your heart ever been broken? Yes, in the romantic sense and in other ways. Do you still watch cartoons? Sometimes. Have you ever dated a ‘Tom’ or ‘Garret’? Nope. Are you happy with your life right now? No. I haven’t been for a long time. What do you think of your principal? -- Who did you last share a bed with? My mom when we stayed at a hotel during our last vacation. Can a relationship last without sex and still be good? For some couples it could be. That’s between the couple. What color is your blanket? It’s a rose gold throw blanket. What do you think about clowns? I like Pennywise. Have you ever ‘turned your swag on’? I have zero swag. How was your day today? It’s been okay. Are you a control freak? No. Who is one person you would do anything for? My loved ones. How long is your hair? It’s past my butt. How well would you say you know your parents? I think I know them very well. Have you ever felt isolated or alienated? I’ve felt isolated, especially these past few years. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you? Uh, there’s been a lot of things. My family alone has done so much for me throughout my life and then there’s friends in the past who have done nice things as well. Have you ever believed you were going to die? What happened? Yes. One time was due to a bad edibles trip, others were due to my hypochondria, and others were serious times where I really thought I might. If you were given a thousand dollars that you could not keep, would you give it to a person or a charity? Why? I think I would give it to my mom. If you could spend a day with one person in your extended family (still alive), who would it be? One of my aunts that I’m really close with and haven’t seen in over a year. Is there any artwork in the room you're in? Describe it. I have a few giraffe paintings. One of them is wearing a sweater and it’s super cute, haha. Who was your best friend in high school? Are you still friends today? My freshmen year and part of sophomore year it was Kyle and David, my sophomore and junior it was Derek and Gabbie, and my senior year my middle school best friend, Amanda, and I reconnected and became best friends again. What is the longest period you've gone without having sex? 31 years so far. How far into the past/future would you want to travel if possible? I wish I could revisit my childhood. Have you ever known someone who appeared to have everything? Yeah. Things aren’t always what they appear, though. What would you do to cheer up a friend going through a break up? I’ve been there and I just tried to be there for them when they needed to vent and while they cried. We usually would get food, too, cause ya know that can be comforting. We’d just hang out. List your favourites: book, song, movie, colour, place? Ya’ll know how hard it is for me to choose favorites with most things. I can list my favorite colors, though, which are pastels, rose gold, sea foam green, coral, and yellow. Who taught you the most about life (ex. a parent, grandparent, friend)? My mom. And my own experiences. Which ONE of these things would you take if you had to evacuate your house immediately: photos/photoalbum, laptop, phone, a book or your childhood comfort object? Gahhh, that would be so hard. I’d probably grab my laptop. What is your dream job and what steps will you have to take to attain it? I don’t have one. :/ What is the newest piece of furniture in your house? The oldest? The newest are the couches we got a few years ago. I’m not sure about the oldest, there’s a lot. What was the last conversation you had about the future? With who? My mom and I have talked about future travel plans recently. Who knows when we’ll be able to travel, though. Has anyone ever told you that you are too picky when it comes to the people you date? What about not picky enough? I have been told that I’m picky. When was the last time you went to a bar? Sometime 8 years ago. What three things would you change about your life? My health, financial situation, living situation (my family and I have wanted to move for so long but haven’t been able to). Was there anything unusual or unique about your birth? I was a C-section baby. What has happened in the past week that is worth remembering in five years? Nothing significant has happened. How much of your day did you spend completely alone? Uhh, just like the first hour when I got up until I dragged myself outta bed. What is the next book you are going to read? I just started the first book in a series, so I’ll read next book when I’m done. Why did you last see the doctor? I have to see my pain doctor once a month in order to get my prescription refills. What do you want to accomplish tomorrow? I have my Bible study work to do. List the cards in your wallet. I’m not doing that. What was the last thing to inspire you? Uhhh. I haven’t felt inspired in a long time. :/ Who was the last person to do something nice for you? My dad. What was the lowest point of this year? The highest? We’re only halfway through January, so I can’t say yet. What is your number one short-term goal? Long-term? I need to set some goals first and then actually work toward them. Are you dealing with anything difficult at the moment? Health stuff. What's the view like from your bedroom window? Right now it’s pitch black out, so there’s not a view at all. During the day it’s not much better, though. I just see the top of my neighbor’s roof, top of the fence, and part of a tree. If you had to change a tire right now, would you know how? Nope. Are you really pale? If so, do you mind? I am. I’d like to get a little more color. Have you ever taken a picture of yourself kissing someone? I didn’t take the photo, but I do have a photo like that What was the subject of the last list that you made? It was a grocery list. Do any of your family members have an upcoming birthday? My brother’s is next month. How old were you when you had your wisdom teeth removed? I was a teenager. What are the last three songs you listened to? I don’t remember. I haven’t been listening to music lately. Which languages can you speak fluently? Just English. Where was your Facebook profile picture taken? In my room. Does someone owe you over twenty dollars? Nope. How many hours do you work a week? If you don’t work, do you plan on finding a job? If so, when? No, not at this time. Do you ever make your own surveys, or just take them? I just take them. When is the next time you will be going out of town? I have no idea at this point. Do you have Netflix or Hulu? What was the last thing you watched? I have both. I just finished Dare Me on Netflix. Is there anybody you seem to constantly run into somewhere? No. I also don’t go anywhere, so. When you were fourteen, who was your favorite band? I was into alternative stuff and mainstream. How old was your mom when she had you? She was in her early 20s.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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earlgreytea68 · 5 years

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The Omegaverse Lawsuit

Everyone's been talking about the Omegaverse lawsuit recently, which is a little odd, since it was filed in September, but hey, sometimes that's how it goes!

It literally took me a little while to figure out that the names of the book series at issue here are Myth of Omega and Alpha's Claim. Like, I know this is meant to clearly signal they're Omegaverse books, but it just amused me to be talking about Omegaverse and not have it be a ficcy title. It really drove home to me how very, very different fic is as a genre from commercial original fiction, even when they're hitting the same tropes.

The first thing to note is that the complaint is not a copyright infringement claim. Instead, the plaintiff, basically a writer named Zoey Ellis, is making allegations stemming from a copyright infringement claim against *her.*

The whole thing starts with a DMCA notice. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it's really easy for copyright holders to get allegedly infringing activity taken down: they file a notice. The website hosting the allegedly infringing activity is required by the DMCA to remove the allegedly infringing activity basically immediately. The person whose material has been removed is permitted to fight against the notice, but of course many people don't do that. It takes time, effort, and a knowledge of the law. For a lot of busy, sensible people, it's often not worth it. What this means is that DMCA notices are massively abused. We know they are. Theoretically they can only be advanced in good faith, however. So, if you can prove you've got a DMCA notice that was issued in bad faith, well, that could be a thing.

Which is what this complaint builds around. It doesn't happen often, challenging a DMCA notice on bad faith grounds, but this complaint goes for it, which is impressive. And they allege a decent case because they allege a DMCA notice was issued for a book that hadn't even been published yet. Knowing an unpublished book is going to be copyright infringement before you've even seen it is a talent that you'd be smart to utilize on winning the lottery (if that’s what happened, of course).

The plaintiff here did what you're supposed to do under the DMCA if you believe your work is fine and provided counter-notices. However, unlike in the case of the original notice, counter-notices can take months to process and resolve to get the works back up.

As anyone familiar with fandom can tell you, rumors spread quickly. Once the word was out there that a DMCA notice had caused a takedown based on plagiarism, the allegations say that forums picked up on it, defaming the plaintiff's reputation.

The complaint goes on to allege a pattern of the defendant Addison Cain manipulating social media for stars and reviews. I know we theoretically have standards for how stars and reviews happen, but, really, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there in book marketing. These are the examples in the complaint:

Idk, if the DMCA notice claims are true, they seem sketchy, but these communications don't strike me as that bad. The truth is, it's hard to know as an author when you're going "too far." You need to educate people as to what's helpful algorithmically, and upvoting five stars and downvoting one stars is helpful. That sounds like what she's doing, providing information so people know how they can help a writer they love. Presumably anyone doing this would seem to care enough about Addison Cain's books to spend time doing this. It doesn't seem from these excerpts like she's bribing people in any way. The second example seems especially bland to me, like, the reader seems to ask if it would be helpful to mark it "not helpful," so the reader brings it up, and then in response to Addison Cain they seem to say that they're shocked anyone would find the review helpful, which seems to me to imply that their "not helpful" designation was a true reflection of how they feel. Surely encouraging truthful and honest behavior on the part of your readers isn't a bad thing, and surely we would not ask authors to explain to readers how to be mean to them, instead of how to help them. So, I don't know, this part of the complaint strikes me as a little weak. I just don't think asking for people who liked your book to review it as scandalous as they seem to think. Like, their exhibit is titled "Review Manipulation," and it includes things like this:

(which, btw, afa I can tell, is her encouraging people to leave good review on *someone else's* book)

and

Idk, what do you think? Are you outraged by those?

Moving on:

This does seem ridiculous to me. She does seem to think that she was the first to ever write a M/F Omegaverse (which the complaint alleges is provably untrue), but also seems to think that she therefore influenced the entire genre to be exactly like her. Idk. This just makes me think, like, ::raised eyebrow:: Who goes around saying "Oh, you know why that's like that? They're all copying ME!" Idk.

(Incidentally, it's interesting that she's claiming to own the straight version of the trope, that the straight version of the trope is the unusual version, because romance is in the mainstream culture dominated so much by straight love stories, and indeed every love-story example in the complaint is a het example. They use "The Runaway Bride" as an example of an enemies-to-lovers trope, which was SO WEIRD to me, I stared at it and was like, ....but all of Harry/Draco exists???? lol)

Asserting that on its own, though, would just make me roll my eyes a bit and move on. Coupled with the DMCA notice allegations, however, it does make it seem like she's trying to claim ownership over the entire M/F Omegaverse genre.

The similarities listed in the DMCA notice do seem like pretty basic aspects of the trope that I don't think anyone can own.

(There are more alleged. This is just the first few.)

But the DMCA notice does purport to contain reviews that say the two books are very similar.

(Again, there are more, this is just a selection.) Part of me feels like maybe these people just haven't read much Omegaverse? Or haven't read fic, so they're not used to how tropes work? Idk. Without having read the books myself, it's hard for me to make this call. (And that's honestly how copyright infringement gets decided. You just have to read the books and decide if they're substantially similar in something copyrightable. Which apparently somebody did because the books were eventually reinstated as not infringing, it just didn't happen in a court of law. If this case goes on, eventually some judge is just going to have to sit down and read these.)

And of course the DMCA notice obviously chooses the most favorable to their cause, because there's also this:

If the only similarities are the rules...that just sounds like the Omegaverse trope.

The claims itself in this case are really interesting. It's not a copyright infringement case, because the plaintiff is specifically saying they are NOT infringing. Instead, the first claim is a copyright misuse claim (that you're using the monopoly granted to you by the government in an improper way, usually understood to be anticompetitive in a way that the government didn't contemplate as being part of the copyright grant). These are relatively rare but I think it's the right call, that using your copyright to send false DMCA notices would be copyright misuse.

The defendant has now answered the complaint denying the allegations. Indeed, the defendant asserts that the complaint is defamatory because it alleges Addison Cain has only filed one other DMCA notice in ten years of being a published author and thus she has not repeatedly manipulated the system to shame other authors. It also includes a counterclaim that alleges basically that this lawsuit has been brought for harassment purposes because it’s expensive to defend a lawsuit and they alleged that online sales metrics tell them that at most Zoey Ellis has lost about $2000 worth of sales.

So that’s where the case stands now.

Other miscellaneous observations:

--The complaint has spoilers for the end of Alpha's Claim which tell me I would never read that book.

--This is what the complaint lists as the common markers of the Omegaverse trope:

You know, people in Omegaverse fics often grapple really hard with consent issues, and I love when that happens, and I'm sad that's obscured in this paragraph. I mean, I know the point of the complaint isn't to talk about the ways in which the trope can be subverted, but anyway.

I'm not a huge Omegaverse person, but one thing I do often enjoy about it is how stark it makes the sexism of our patriarchal society, that the gender that breeds is so devalued and treated as dangerous and cordoned off and loses agency, etc. And then how straightforwardly it often has to deal with that. And I know M/M Omegaverse often skimps on female characters but I also like how much it drives that point home, that it's not a man/woman thing, it's literally just that as soon as someone has to bear the children, that comes attached with all sorts of burdens and expectations.

And I'm also not saying that every Omegaverse author sits down to grapple with those issues, or should be, or has to be. Just that Omegaverse can reveal so much about how we structure societies. And I'm sad that this complaint is just furthering this idea that fic doesn't really do anything profound or interesting or necessary and is just:

It's cool, not all fic/writing/creativity needs to serve GREAT INTERESTS, nor should it, but also I think a lot of fic/writing/creativity does, and that gets ignored in favor of dismissing it as frivolous. Idk. Obviously this complaint is not about solving that issue, but it made me think about it.

OR. Hear me out. They could get together and just cuddle for 100,000 words and banter and stuff. Just sayin'. Just throwing it out there.

I'm honestly really annoyed by this paragraph's wording. It sounds so condescending. "Employed a degree of creativity consisted with other 'fan fictions.'" I hate those quotation marks around "fan fictions," like they're not sure those are a real thing. So-called "fan fictions" (which, who calls them fan fictions anyway? who are they quoting there lol). But also, like, what's the "degree of creativity consistent" language. Like, the standard for copyrightability is that it possesses a modicum of creativity. That's it. It's a low bar. We know the phone book doesn't have a modicum of creativity but almost everything else has SOMETHING. So this strikes me as a little...sneering and dismissive, like, "Well, it's just as creative as other 'fan fictions.'" No. It's creative. Fic is creative. This is creative. It's an entire BOOK, that no one is alleging copies anything other than tropes (AS ALL PIECES OF FICTION DO, THIS IS NOT A FIC THING). It's got plot, characters, setting, dialogue -- none of which are alleged to be copied. So, like, just say it. It's creative. It possesses a modicum of creativity. Move on. I have no idea why that weird "fan fictions" reference is in there, Idk.

--They've got an exhibit that they claim is Addison Cain online statements about the plaintiff, but I can't make heads or tails of them. They're weirdness about how she's wrote the original M/F Omegaverse, but I don't see any references to the plaintiff author Zoey Ellis, other than very vague references like this:

I'm a little bewildered by this exhibit. I think maybe they might be alleging that Addison Cain set up fake accounts to badmouth Zoey Ellis but if that's the case it's not clear to me, especially since they've blacked out the account name:

--This complaint has an exhibit that's basically an expert witness on Omegaverse. I love this so much. :-)

--Let's just enjoy this being in a legal filing:

--This isn't part of the main allegations. This is apparently, though, the kind of thing that Addison Cain has in the past considered plagiarism. Just a small selection, again, there are more. But:

I have long said that writing a sex scene is like writing a cover letter: You’re trying to convey a very narrow series of events, over and over, and there’s only so many words you can use to do it. So comparing sex scenes like this just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Sex scenes will mostly inevitably sound similar in isolated sentences like this. It’s so funny, I was just saying to Aja about a gif, “He’s arching his neck to give him access like every heroine in every romance novel.” Because that’s a line we’ve all read in every romance novel.

Honestly, honestly, literally every single Omegaverse fic I’ve ever read has this exact moment. (And many of them do it better.)

--This complaint has taught me a lot about how much of a kink some people have for being covered in days’ worth of caked-on semen, rubbed into their bodies and massaged into their hair. Really, the complaint is kink-instructive, I recommend it.

--Honestly to me the most damning thing about this is this exhibit where Addison took matters into her own hands to post the similarities between her book and another book, because I’m just not convinced by any of these, and if this is what she thinks copyright infringement is, then I doubt she understands what it is. Bull all these BTBB/TMO comparisons have been her making her case that these two books are similar, and I’m just dubious. And then stuff like this comes up:

Omegas being tired after a heat, yup.

They…both came up with a futuristic device that has a…screen?

She does end with this:

But I just don’t see what she’s claiming ownership of *other than* these really common Omegaverse tropes that I’ve read a million times. (Which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing. I’m a fic person at heart; I adore tropes.)

Anyway. That’s it. That’s the case so far. Let me know if you have questions, because lawyers can be bad at remembering what non-lawyers might be confused about.

In the meantime, I’m going to dig up some Omegaverse.

#long post #omegaverse #law

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Teleprompter Interview: Katy Wix ‘My First Screen Crush was King Kong’

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“Anchors, rigging, shackles,” lists Katy Wix down the phone, “poop deck, wheelhouse, three sheets to the wind…” The comedian and writer has had a productive year. Filming wrapped on Ghosts series two just as UK lockdown began. Since then, she’s finished one book – Delicacy: A Memoir – due out next April, is pitching another, writing a TV show, and thanks to a new-found obsession with Netflix yacht-based reality show Below Deck, has also managed to acquire an enviable grasp of nautical terminology.

Wix is an established UK comic actor, with credits across the board, starting with cult hit Time Trumpet and going mainstream as witless, lovable Daisy in BBC mega-sitcom Not Going Out. She’s currently part of Channel 4’s Stath Lets Flats, the hottest comedy around, fresh from multiple Bafta wins. She plays Fergie in royal satire The Windsors, and was among the comedian-contestants in series nine of Taskmaster. In BBC One sitcom Ghosts, Wix plays Mary, a 17th century yokel burned as a witch and now part of the motley group haunting a modern-day stately home. Mary’s distinctive west country accent “just came out”, says Wix. “It’s an insult really, because I can’t claim to do that accent well. It’s sort of a stock noise. The more I do it, the more I think it sounds like Nanny from Count Duckula. Ducky!”

Ghosts series two, which lands as a boxset on BBC iPlayer on Monday September 21st , will give fans more about Mary’s background, says Wix. “I think people will really love it, and then there’ll be another series next year, depending on the big C. Not cancer. The other big C.”

From superyachts to Alan Partridge, The Day Today to Ghostwatch, Anna from This Life to formative sexual fantasies about prehistoric apes… here’s the Katy Wix Teleprompter interview.

Your parents were quite arty, working in dance companies and the theatre. Did your childhood allow for much TV watching?

Oh my god, yes! My routine was: come home from school, watch the tail-end of Fifteen to One, and when I was really young, repeats of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Then it would be The Broom Cupboard, something like Round the Twist, then the sound of the Six O’Clock News and turning over to The Simpsons. I still do it now, if I’m at home and it’s five to six, I’m going to watch The Simpsons, it’s a tradition.

Welsh telly was slightly different to the rest of the country. We have S4C rather than Channel 4. I remember going through the TV listings and seeing what was on normal Channel 4, like The Word, then I’d look at Welsh Channel 4 and it would just be something boring in Welsh at the same time.

Was there a TV show that inspired you to start acting and comedy?

The one I remember the most is Abigail’s Party. Seeing Alison Steadman’s performance made me want to do character acting. It was just a phenomenal, convincing, detailed performance. Years later, I wrote a radio sitcom that she was in. It was one of those absurd moments where you just have to leave your body and look down on yourself to be able to handle it.

That must happen a lot, you’ve been part of a lot of great comedy casts…

What got me into comedy was Brass Eye and The Day Today. When I was about 15, that’s what changed my brain. It was the first time I’d seen adults being silly and coming up with absurd situations that were my sense of humour. Before that, comedy on TV would always feel like just something your parents would watch but this really felt like it was for us, for me and my friends. It was the same with The Office.

And then you were in This Time with Alan Partridge with Steve Coogan last year.

I was in sixth form when Knowing Me, Knowing You came out and I had it on VHS. Watching people like Rebecca Front and Doon Mackichan… anytime Alan had a guest on the sofa, the level of detail and all the reactions and the tiny little social awkward moments, that made me think I want to do that type of performing. So then, when I got to be in the last Partridge, it was mad. It was phenomenal to be that near to the character and all his tiny micro-expressions. Even the colour of his socks – this weird salmon pink – that was so perfect. Tim [Key] was there as well and we’re old pals, so that made it feel more like, well if Tim can deal with it. But I think even Tim now says he still has times where he has to go into the loo and give himself a moment.

Who or what was your first TV love?

This will sound like a joke, but I swear to God it’s true. It was a running joke in our family that my first crush when I was about four, was King Kong [laughs]. My mum used to tease me about it all the time. It was the combination of brute strength and these massive, soulful, pained eyes – which I still look for in men – that absolutely got me. It was an erotic connection for me. When I look back on it in a Freudian way, it feels like a really obvious, very heterosexual image for a little girl to have, because I wanted to be that woman in the nightie in his massive hairy hand.

Unusual, yes, but then a lot of people our age cite the fox in the Robin Hood Disney film as their first screen crush.

I do get that. I do get that. What was it about that fox?

He’s rakish. And politically, he was sound too – rob from the rich, give to the poor.

You’re right. And he was really confident too.

Growing up, which TV character did you idolise?

There are two, a younger one and a slightly later one. When I was 11 or 12, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I would draw outfits all the time in my school books and I had the Usborne Book of Fashion Design and spend hours on it. So I wanted to be Hilary Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air because she just had incredible fashion. She always got boys and she was really cool and confident and wore amazing clothes. She was everything I wanted to be.

Then a little bit later, maybe sixth form or in my early 20s. I wanted to be Anna from This Life, so much and I kind of still do. Because she was tall and really cool and had dark hair and a lot of attitude and wore black a lot and smoked a lot and didn’t give a shit. That was my vibe at university.

Is there a TV character you’d like to be now?

Probably still Anna?

Which TV show gave you nightmares?

The massive one for me, when I was about 11 or 12: Ghostwatch. I went to a friend’s house to watch it and I remember being a bit like ‘yeah right’ watching it, and then when I got home that night, I just cried. I was in the bath, hysterical and my mum had to come in and calm me down. It was horrendous.

Everyone totally swallowed it at the time, because we were less TV-savvy in 1992. I remember they had a phone-in and someone called in to say ‘There’s a shape in the curtains’, which really fucked me up. The whole Pipes thing. I remember being in my bedroom and seeing a shape of an old man in the curtain all the time. I’ve got really vague memories of Craig Charles being in a park, saying that someone had killed a Labrador. I was thinking about watching it again. I actually don’t know if I dare.

50 best British comedy TV shows on Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, NOW TV, Britbox, All4, UKTV Play

By Louisa Mellor

Not Going Out: the top 10 episodes

By Philip Lickley

When did you last cry watching television?

Last night. Have you ever seen the show Below Deck? I’m obsessed with it. I’m not massively into reality TV but it’s an American reality show all filmed on superyachts that rich people charter. It’s almost like a perfect sitcom family – you have a different captain every time and the deckhands and then the interior, who do the hotel stuff, and then you have the chef, who’s always a temperamental big personality and then each episode has a different group of insanely rich, usually quite horrible, sexist people with loads of money who get really drunk, that’s the premise. It’s non-stop drama. You’re just watching people fall off boats and have arguments.

How did it make you cry?

In this episode, there was a girl who’d been really quiet and grumpy and everyone was slagging her off, and then she revealed that she’d got a text that morning saying her estranged father had died, so that’s what set me off. It’s got me through lockdown, it’s so addictive.

When did you last laugh out loud watching television?

Below Deck, same episode!

All human life is there!

I think it was someone’s malapropism, that’s my favourite thing about reality TV, the way people talk in a kind of Stath-like way and get it wrong.

What was the last TV show you recommended to a friend?

Below Deck! [Laughs] I’ve just got Lolly [Adefope] onto it, and Adam Drake – he’s a comedian in a sketch show called Goose and does Capital, a podcast with Liam Williams – he’s now devoted. One of my best mates was bemoaning that her boyfriend’s not into reality TV, but boys can watch Below Deck too. It’s got loads of boat stuff in it. Chains and anchors. I’m learning all these terms, like shackles, poop deck, wheelhouse, three sheets to the wind… That’s where the expression ‘in my wheelhouse’ comes from. Three sheets to the wind means you’re sailing off course.

Which TV show would you bring back from the dead?

Changing Rooms.

Good call.

I also loved The Late Review. I really loved that.

What’s a TV show you wish more people would watch?

Do you know Iyanla Vanzant? She started off on The Oprah Winfrey Show – I love Oprah so much – and she’s a TV therapist/healer/spiritual. She’s got a show you can only get on American TV called Iyanla: Fix My Life. She just speaks so much wisdom. She spends a week with people who are really traumatised and it’s their healing journey. It’s so moving, it’s so profound. She’s doing incredible work for the human race.

She did an amazing show called, I think, ‘The Myth of the Angry Black Woman’ with a house full of women of colour who all got to talk about this trope that they were angry and how they felt unable to speak without being silenced. She did a show that was rehabilitating people that had come out of prison and women that had been sex workers all their loves, just amazing.

Which current TV show do you never miss an episode of?

In lockdown, what kept me going was I May Destroy you, obviously, Below Deck, obviously. I also became obsessed with the Japanese Big Brother Terrace House, but it just got pulled because there was a suicide. It was so, so awful. I read an article saying the producers didn’t behave well, so I feel like I can’t like it any more. I love Succession too. I started watching this show on Netflix called Intervention and got totally obsessed with it. Again, it’s maybe ethically a bit dubious. It’s American, obviously, and they’ll film an addict who’s in a really desperate state and then the family kind of trick them, or persuade them to go into a room and then the intervention therapist is there and they’re like ‘Guess what, you’re going to rehab now!’ Anything that’s got human suffering, and then a redemption story in it, I’ll watch.

Given the power, which TV show would you commission?

I think about this a lot – what if I had a channel? I’d commission the sketch group Sheeps to make tons of series. That’s Liam Williams, Al Roberts and Daran Johnson, and so far they’ve only done live shows, but I would commission them for hours of TV. Colin Hoult doing his character Anna Mann, I’d commission hours of that. Everyone involved in Stath Lets Flats, I’d just say ‘Turn up, pitch and we’ll make it’. There’s a documentary from the 70s that I adore, that I would like to show again, which is John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. It’s one of the most beautiful, gentle documentaries. I feel like that should be on TV. And just whatever Gemma Collins is doing, commission that.

Also, you know in the 90s, late at night you’d get some weird, bizarre performance art happening on BBC Two? I miss that. The sort of stuff that was on after The Word. And then finally, maybe just all of Peep Show again?

What’s the most fun you’ve had making television?

Ghosts is where I probably laugh the most because of Lolly [Adefope]. We make each other laugh all the time. When me and Anna [Crilly] did our sketch show on Channel 4, it was incredible. It was stressful but exciting. It was such a nice atmosphere to be with all these gorgeous people that you find funny.

Stath Lets Flats is like that, because we’re all genuine mates. When people take comedy so seriously I really love it. I love that attention to detail. Jamie [Demetriou] and everyone involved really cares. There’s no ‘that’ll do’ attitude, everyone wants it to be the best it can be. Why not treat comedy as a science that you have to absolutely get right?

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Ghosts series two starts on Monday the 21st of September on BBC One at 8.30pm. All six episodes will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from then.

Delicacy: A Memoir by Katy Wix, published by Headline, is available to pre-order now.

The post The Teleprompter Interview: Katy Wix ‘My First Screen Crush was King Kong’ appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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somnolent-snufkin · 4 years

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I listen to ASMR every night to calm my anxiety down and to help me sleep. But I've noticed something really funny about the roleplay videos.

So, for those who don't know, my name is Bridget. (I go by Ame online.) Bridget is kind of an unusual name? I guess? I mean, the last time I heard my name in the mainstream media was Trolls from 2016. There was a Bergen named Bridget.

But for some odd reason, ASMR artists like to use the name... a lot.

Goodnight Moon ASMR's Babblebrooke series has multiple well written and memorable characters. One of the most memorable is the Inn Keeper you meet. Her name is Bridget. A few of the other characters in the Babblebrooke universe are friends with Bridget such as the Willow Witch, the Nightshade Witch, Maybell, and Mrs. Pippetwhistle. There are several occasions where I hear the characters talking about her and my tired brain thinks "Oh.. I guess I did that. Cool."

If you want to check that ASMR series out:

I'm listening to another ASMR roleplay and the front desk lady's name is Bridget.

That'a just a real funky coincidence.

#asmr #asmr roleplay #bridget

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clefairytea · 5 years

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hi, i just wanted to ask about your pokemon writing, do you often differentiate between the cultures of different regions? I know the different languages is a thing (I love reading about them, it adds so much world building), but do you think of the characters from kanto or johto as having Japanese names, or is it more ambiguous. Thanks!!

Hi! Ok this is gonna be me info dumping again, just fyi.

I definitely think the different regions have different cultures. Partially because that’s way more fun and interesting than the writer just writing it as Basically Their Home Country (usually America) or Nondescript Anime Land, but partially because I think especially in later games there’s a concentrated effort to make the regions feel like distinct places with their own cultures and customs. And honestly that is genuinely one of my favourite things about the series! Every new game genuinely feels like exploring a new place and that’s really fun.

As for whether the Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh character have Japanese names…eeh, that’s a little trickier.

It’s interesting to think about - the first Pokemon games were localised when the general public didn’t have much knowledge about Japan. So everything that came over was Americanised so as not to confused the general audience (especially stuff targeted at children). But also the Pokémon games were clearly culturally Japanese. So we ended up with stuff like

Yeah.

(Side note: if you weren’t from America this made everything so much more confusing. I just figured doughnuts looked like this in America.)

That sort of stuff has died down a lot - anime has become mainstream, and the general public, especially among young people and video game fans, understand what Japanese names and foods are. Most translation now just preserves the original names and Japanese cultural aspects. I’m willing to bet that if Pokemon RBY was translated for the first time now, we might not have vaguely-Italian mob boss Giovanni, but clearly-Japanese yazuka boss Sakaki.

But Pokémon is already a worldwide, established, international franchise. Localisation is part and parcel of the franchise now and they have to stick to that.

So if you’re goofing around in the fandom this presents a kind of weird issue - you wanna write these characters as clearly Japanese because…well the region clearly is, but they’re named things like Daisy and Lance and Agatha and Samuel.

It also gets more confusing because in XY and Sun/Moon, you run into characters who explicitly say they’re from Kanto and they do have Japanese names!

I’ve seen a couple of people do interesting things with this. I read a fic once where they noted that characters have ‘trainer names’, so like Gold’s legal name isn’t actually Gold, it’s Ethan or Hibiki or whatever. I think that’s a fun way to approach it! I’ve also seen people use the Japanese names as their real names, but then the Western-style name as a common nickname.

My personal way to make sense of this is that Kanto-Johto-etc is like, a version of Japan where it was never a closed country. Immigration and swapping of cultures was much more present much earlier, so Western-style names got in the mix. While you’ll rarely meet a Japanese person whose actual legal name is Daisy Oak, but let’s say that they have some distant Galar ancestry, or maybe Western names are just trendy and people will pick them out because they’re nice. Japanese names very much still exist and are common, but it’s not too crazy to see people with different names.

(Also - I do like the idea of gym leaders and big-name trainers using stage names. Like maybe Lance’s legal name is Wataru but Lance sounds cool and looks cool printed on posters so. Whatever).

I also really like the idea that it’s not uncommon for Kanto-Johto-whatever people to have like, kanji names that are read in an unusual way. Like, I like the idea that Moon’s name is 月 but you read it as ‘Moon’. From what I know (and I am NOT an expert), this is actually a thing in Japan, but I imagine it’s more conventional in this universe.

So basically, I think it’s awkward due to early localisation decisions, but I think it’s more fun to imagine that people in Japan-inspired regions have Japanese names, but Western-style names aren’t uncommon at all!

Sidenote - I also think the idea of Blue’s name being the kanji for ‘Green’ but read ‘Blue’ is really really funny. Like. Just maximum possible confusion. That’s not even a common thing to do. So every single time he’s like, booking into a hotel or whatever it’s like

HOTEL CONCIERGE WHO DOESN’T FOLLOW POKÉMON BATTLING: Here’s your key, check out is at ten, I hope you enjoy your stay…um… [squinting at name on screen] M-Midori-san?BLUE, WHO HAS HAD TO EXPLAIN THISEVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS ENTIRE LIFE: [sighs]

#clefairy squeaks #pokemon #Do I need a separate tag for my Pokémon meta?#Perhaps.#long post #Anonymous

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polyamorouspixie · 5 years

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Hello! I’m not sure if you’ve answered this question before, but what’re your thoughts on/tips for coming out to (potentially unsupportive) family? My husband and I have an almost 8 month old daughter, so we’re worried that will complicate matters and make them less accepting than they might’ve been otherwise 😥

I don’t think I’ve covered this before!

My first feeling on this is: you do not have to come out. Coming out is a big deal, and you can’t take it back. So have a look at the reasons why you’re doing it before making a big jump, and weigh up the pros and cons of what’s likely to happen. Is there a chance they would cut you off entirely? Do you rely on them for childcare? Would they ever cause trouble e.g. reporting you to your work or contacting social services? It shouldn’t have to be this way but the reality is these are risks in our society.

But, equally, there are risks to consider in staying closeted. If you get outed accidentally, family are much more likely to react badly as it’ll probably come at a bad time and there’s also that “they’ve been lying to us” aspect. You’re more likely to get serious backlash if they do find out that way, and you’ll not have so much control over how they view it. Depending on your set up, it may be really hurtful to your partner(s) to not be out. If you’re in an equal triad and one person has to pretend to be the lodger when your parents come over, that isn’t fair. But if you’re in a quad made of two previously existing couples, maybe being closeted isn’t so bad. If your non-marital partners are fairly casual it might not matter if they know your parents or not.

I’m not a big fan of “being out is the only way to be your true self”--sometimes it’s safer, easier, and better for someone not to share all their life with everyone. I would absolutely not judge anyone who didn’t want their family to know they’re poly. My parents don’t know I’m poly or bi; or if they’ve twigged, we don’t talk about it. There’s a lot of pressure, especially in the queer community, to be out all the time, and I don’t think it’s necessarily healthy.

Consider also that being out has grey areas. Maybe Mum and Dad will be alright, but your grandparents don’t need to know. Maybe his favourite auntie would definitely be cool and would understand keeping quiet with some of the rest of the family. Be aware that you can’t stop people from passing on information once they have it, but hopefully you know who is trustworthy when making these decisions. Keep in mind your daughter will soon be able to absorb information and pass it on, long before she understands the concept of appropriate audiences, and that children pick up so much more information than you realise.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer to being out or not. Every choice has risks and benefits, so pick the one that seems best, not try to find one that’s perfect.

If you do decide to come out, there are things you can do to make it go smoothly. First, test the waters a little with their general reaction to polyamory. Mention some friends who do it, or share an article, or ask their opinion of a documentary (Netflix has a series of short documentaries called Explained, one is Monogamy, it would be a good starter for someone who has never considered non-monogamy). Keep in mind that even if they react well to it generally, they may not be so keen when it’s in their family.

When you decide it’s time to talk to them, I’d suggest a casual setting. A “we need to talk” and formal set up puts people on edge. Choose a time when nothing much else is going on (do not come out at a family event. People will be so mad). I’m a big fan of giving information through text because it gives you time to think about what you’re going to say and give the right impression, and it gives the receiver time to process before they react. There’s a lot of pressure when someone drops information on you unexpectedly and then stares at you to see what your face immediately does. But however you choose to tell them, keep it simple. No jargon, nothing unnecessary. Talk to them in terms they understand. Tell them what it means to you without giving uncomfortable detail. Most people do assume any kind of non-mainstream relationship is seedy, overtly sexual, and it is unfortunately on you to portray it to them in a way that isn’t. So don’t talk about it as a social idea that loads of people do, just talk about how you found you loved your friend as more than a friend and having that closeness brings happiness to you and your marriage, or whatever is appropriate to your situation (if you’re still at the “seeking” stage then you can talk about this in the abstract). Be gentle with how you explain it, it might come as a tremendous and unwelcome shock to them.

You are going to have to put in the work here to make this go well. Don’t be confrontational when they ask rude and invasive questions. Answer them gently, again in words they understand with a focus on the happiness and support of the people involved. Calmly remind them that you have no intention of exposing your daughter to inappropriate behaviour with others any more than you would let her see behaviour between the two of you that she shouldn’t see. If swinging, sex parties, kink, etc, are involved, DO NOT mention it. They don’t want to know and they don’t need to know. You will probably have to be extraordinarily patient, repeat yourself, and give them space and time to process that what they wanted for you isn’t what you want for yourself.

With time, though, even the most unusual of things become mundane. Don’t be disheartened if people are critical at first, because once the dust has settled, they will probably become tolerant. In my first job, I came out, because I had two nesting partners who would come and pick me up from work. At first I had to deal with the most ignorant and rude comments, but after a while, it was just who I was, a funny quirk of me that people were quick to defend if people from other departments noticed anything.

Prepare for worst case scenario (if you rely on them for housing, financial support, childcare, make sure you have a backup plan where you can survive without them), whether you come out or not, because you do not know how people will react. I hate to have to say this, but it will go a long way to be “respectable” in every other aspect of your life. People who are “concerned” for the welfare of your child will look at how tidy your house is, how you dress, how you speak, how you eat, and judge you on that. Be a person who smiles at their neighbours, says hello, sends Christmas (or otherwise appropriate) cards to them, takes in their mail if asked to; so if anyone asks, everyone will have good things to say about you. Go out of your way to make a good impression on them, and on your co-workers. It’s unlikely to come to it, but be prepared for the worst.

Equally I don’t want to terrify you. Likely it won’t even be that big a deal; you’ll get cards sent that deliberately miss off names, a few passive aggressive comments, but everything will kind of just settle back to normal. Be prepared, but don’t panic.

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numberonerandomblogger · 5 years

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The Gamecube review

So, it has been 18 years since the Gamecube was released and now, with my newfound free time, I can finally review what I’ve experienced from its gaming library. First, I’d like to say that this review is only my opinion, although it might be a bit controversial since I have my own issues with it. Second, I’ll divide the games in some categories for this review.

Platformers

Gamecube had an abundance of platformers, with most of them being in 3D. It’s a bit like the N64 era, but with even less 2.5 D platformers (aside from Megaman, Viewtiful Joe, or Alien Hominid). I ended up liking most 2.5 D platformers on the console and Donkey Kong:Jungle Beat remains an amazing game, despite being very easy. Due to this oversaturation, most of them tried very hard to stand out by mixing up gameplay mechanics with something “cool” (guns, cars, etc.) to appeal to kids and I ended up not liking those too much, such as Ty, Shadow The Hedgehog, Vexx, etc. Meanwhile, the other games that stayed true to themselves became classics always considered by fans, such as Billy Hatcher & The Giant Egg, Pac-Man World 2, Super Mario Sunshine even though I don’t like that game at all, etc. While I wasn’t really a fan of the direction platformers were taking during that era, which heavily affected their quality, there are still a few diamonds in the rough.

Adventure/Role-Playing Games

The Gamecube had plenty of adventure games and, despite open-world games becoming more and more of a thing, the Gamecube had very few open-world games. Only The Incredible Hulk:Total Destruction, True Crime, or even GUN were open-world on the consoles. So, more traditional adventure games were put on the console. I really loved The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker for what it was, despite a few problems it had. Starfox Adventures was also decent, but far from great. The Legend Of Zelda:Twilight Princess tried too hard to please its “hardcore gamerz” fanbase and to look cool, so I still found the experience slightly dissapointing. At least some gameplay mechanics. The Resident Evil games were also the only source of adventure-horror games on the console aside from Eternal Darkness, which I think is a really great horror game with lots of interesting ideas. Role-Playing games on the console were also fairly scarce, especially compared to the Playstation 2. They were fine, though. Paper Mario:The Thousand-Year Door was pretty good, although a bit overrated due to some characters’ halted development and some gameplay mechanics I am not a fan of. The Baten Kaitos games look like they could have been on PS2 in terms of quality, and are really good games. I thought the Pokémon games on the Gamecube (XD, Colosseum) were really nothing special both in terms of story and gameplay compared to other RPGs despite trying to appeal to an older audience. Tales Of Symphonia was great and could compete with PS2 RPGs. So yeah, I liked the Aventure games/RPGs of the Gamecube, but most weren’t that extraordinary.

Shooters

As far as shooters go, there is a big variety of them. Even including a few 2D shoot-em-ups, although only Ikaruga is really fondly remembered. The vast amount of First-Person Shooters on the console wasn’t really that surprising and rarely did any of them try to stand out. Two titles that stood out to me were Metroid Prime 1 and 2. Rather than just focusing on killing the bad guys, there was a vast amount of effort put into exploration and, while the sight of a 3D Metroid game doesn’t instantly make me happy, that’s something I can honestly get behind. I’m glad Retro Studios took their time to create a deeper universe for Metroid. They were a few other shooters, such as Metal Arms:Glitch in the System, but I don’t think that many of them stood out on the Gamecube aside from Killer 7 and P.N. 03, but that game isn’t the best due to its unusual controls. Star Fox: Assault might not have been the best game in the series, but it was still somewhat alright to play and kept the arcade-like spirit of the franchise. Oh, and there’s also Geist, a Nintendo-made First-Person Shooter. Too bad it had a great idea that was better executed elsewhere.

Fighting games

Unlike the N64, the Gamecube got quite a few good fighting games. Sure, most of them are licensed games, but most of them were really fun. Even better is that Mortal Kombat appeared on the console in 2004. Super Smash Bros. Melee might be rushed, but it still works really well. Custom Robo can also be considered a fighting game, but it has an interesting story mode that’s somewhat darker compared to the happy-go-lucky Nintendo 64 games and can feel like an RPG due to its structure. The 90’s atmosphere is what sold me to this game. As for the licensed titles, anime games based on Naruto or Zatch Bell were fine, but they also weren’t the best fighting games in existence due to a copious amount of problems. This era saw the birth of a bunch of Power Stone clones for some reason (One Piece:Grand Battle, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, etc.), which was a good thing, in my opinion. The only bad thing about it is that Capcom still won’t make Power Stone 3 despite their formula being so successful other companies ripped them off.

Other

Despite the Gamecube not having a realistic car simulator, it had a good amount of realistic-looking racing games. Too bad I honestly do not care about any of them. F-Zero GX is a fun but somewhat frustrating futuristic racing game. Just be prepared for the mind-crushing difficulty and you’ll have a good time. Mario Kart:Double Dash!! Has some great ideas that kept me hooked for a while, but I’d rather play Mario Kart 8. Kirby Air Ride is probably my favorite racing game on the system: it uses a single button and the joystick to deliver a rather unique experience. I would definitely recommend it. Animal Crossing, on the other hand, is either something you love or just don’t care. I personally think the Animal Crossing novelty wears off after a few weeks, but I still somewhat “like” it. My favorite game on the console has to be Chibi-Robo: a cleaning/simulation/platforming game where you control a small robot that has to clean the Sanderson’s house. It’s weird, charming, and has a unique story that surprisingly ends up being very dark. Luigi’s Mansion was also somewhat dark, yet ended up really being charming and interesting thanks to its nice atmosphere and neat gameplay. As for rhythm games, we only got a few of them, including Dance Dance Revolution:Mario Mix, which only has some neat remixes. Nothing else about it is really worth the price. Speaking of Mario spin-offs, I really didn’t like some of the ones on the Gamecube. Super Mario Strikers has a single unlockable team, Mario Superstar baseball’s mechanics rarely work and the AI might take advantage of that during the single-player mode, Mario Power Tennis’s gimmicks didn’t entertain me enough to prefer the game over the N64 one, Mario Party 4’s mushroom mechanics were somewhat predictable, and Mario Party 7’s mic-enhanced minigames and overall board designs just bored me. That was the time when I stopped caring about Mario spin-offs.

Overall, I liked the Gamecube’s gaming library, although I didn’t like many aspects of it and had a much better time with the PS2 or even the Dreamcast. I think the Gamecube MIGHT be a bit overrated due to a good amount mainstream gamers growing up with it using their pink nostalgia glasses in order to complain that THEIR era was better than the current era, just like a good amount of previous Nintendo fans complaining on forums about how THEIR era was better back in 2001-2006. It’s an eternal cycle.

#billy hatcher #shadow the hedgehog #gamecube #eternal darkness #chibi-robo #wind waker #kirby air ride #mario #metroid prime #star fox #nintendo

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darliframerch · 3 years

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One Punch Man: 5 Best Villains in the Series (& 5 Worst)

New Post has been published on https://darlinginthefranxxmerch.com/one-punch-man-5-best-villains-in-the-series-5-worst/

One Punch Man: 5 Best Villains in the Series (& 5 Worst)

One Punch Man sends up the hero type from various perspectives, including having an excessive number of scoundrels. Some of them are extraordinary, and others crash and burn.

Superheroes have since a long time ago been a staple of western funnies, particularly with the most mainstream titles from Marvel, like Captain America and Spider-Man, and DC, like Batman and Wonder Woman. The anime world has fired getting on this pattern as well, like My Hero Academia. Yet, it’s a beautiful goofy sort, so it’s ready for parodies. Enter One Punch Man, the mainstream anime that affectionately makes fun of the hero pattern.

The caped legend, Saitama, goes on a mission to battle any trouble makers he meets and discover some proportion of fulfillment in it. Being superpowered is a bit exhausting, all things considered, and a portion of Saitama’s scoundrels challenge him more than others. Also, some are essentially more fun or intriguing to see on screen. Which are a portion of his best reprobates, and which are scarcely even worth the punch?

10.Best: Mosquito Girl

A significant number of the scoundrels in One Punch Man are unusually thoughtful since they are just paying special mind to their own sort or following up on nature as opposed to on vindictiveness or plans of global control.

Mosquito Girl is defensive of her interminable mosquito multitude, and she simply needs to take care of all her small kids. In any case, she does this each life in turn, and on-screen, a multitude of these bugs depletes a gangster to death in a moment or two! Her forces are startling and noteworthy on-screen, and just legend Saitama can bring her down.

9.Worst: Vaccine Man

Curiously, the main scalawag to show up on the screen for One Punch Man is likewise one of the lamest: Vaccine Man! However, he’s not here to shield your children from polio. This muscular humanoid considers progress to be a scourge on nature and needs to purify the earth of mankind.

But… how? He’s only one person, and not horribly solid, even contrasted with other lesser reprobates. His visual plan isn’t exceptionally fascinating, by the same token. It’s an alleviation when Saitama clobbers him, so we can continue to better adversaries.

8.Best: Dr. Genus

This rundown will incorporate both Dr. Class and one of his lab-developed manifestations. The man himself is more seasoned than he looks, being more like 80 years of age or somewhere in the vicinity. His logical undertakings were disdained and disparaged in his time, and he developed old, harsh, and undesirable.

We feel awful for him until he assembles the House of Evolution to unleash destruction as his vengeance! All things considered, he’s a cool miscreant, and it’s entertaining to see him grow a whole clone multitude of himself to run the spot.

7.Worst: Subterraneans

The solitary amusing part about the Subterraneans is that by one way or another, Saitama imagined about them before he met them, all things considered. Saitama’s psyche imagined them as incredible, startling adversaries who gave him a genuine test, and Saitama was excited to have a decent fight on his hands.

Then, at that point he woke up, the Subterraneans showed up seriously… also, escaped immediately! They’re so feeble, they will not confront him. It makes for a good gag, yet something else, it’s enigmatically baffling. Wouldn’t they be able to accomplish more?

6.Best: Speed-O-Sound Sonic

It very well may be contended that Speed-O-Sound Sonic is the principal antagonist of One Punch Man, and like numerous anime reprobates, he announces himself the legend’s harsh adversary (a contention that isn’t returned). Sonic is quick, he’s brilliant, he’s exact, and he can bring down an entire horde of adversaries without taking a solitary blow consequently.

His outfit is upscale and truly cool, and that purple scarf really looks incredible on his silver ninja shield, making him truly stick out. Furthermore, when he’s not kicking butt, his mysterious lily liver side is truly interesting!

5.Worst: King Of Beasts

To be reasonable, the lion-man known as King of Beasts is just a follower of the House of Evolution. However, a few watchers might in any case contemplate whether they might have gotten somewhat more out of the arrangement. He’s a sturdy beast contender with a major nibble… furthermore, that is it.

Saitama impacts him away with his brand name one punch, and this “lord” is truly a furball by correlation. Indeed, even his buddy, the imagined cyborg gorilla, is more intriguing than that (and entertaining, as well).

4.Best: Deep Sea King

This monstrous adversary positions among the best lowliness because he has a remarkable appearance, and he’s probably the hardest enemy Saitama and co. at any point face. He feels like a legitimate Shonen scalawag, cornering a horde of guiltless observers as the saints challenge him individually.

Indeed, even Puri Prisoner can’t deal with him, however, Deep Sea King shows him a fascinating exercise about punching to kill. It’s an exciting second when Saitama deposes this ruler forever.

3.Worst: Hammerhead

This chrome-arch danger is the head of the Paradises, an entire gathering of men who might much rather fool around the entire day then, at that point search for paying work. Hammerhead and companions maybe a remark on the hikikomori marvel in Japan, where youthful grown-ups decline to incorporate into society and stay in their homes as hermits.

In any case, while Hammerhead has an entertaining proclamation, he couldn’t in any way, shape, or form back it up. His cronies are butchered because of Speed-O-Sound Sonic, and he can’t do much against the scarfed ninja, by the same token. So much for his transformation!

2.Best: Carnage Kabuto

Dr. Genus showed up as a decent reprobate on this rundown, and presently his #1 crony, Carnage Kabuto, goes along with him. However he’s a beast power contender, Carnage Kabuto is quite interesting and great to see. He hasn’t set foot outside the House of Evolution HQ yet, however, Saitama and Genos make for fine guineas pigs.

Kabuto is as of now a beast, yet in frenzy mode, he’s genuinely unnerving! Also, exactly when it seems as though Saitama is hopeless, we understand that Saitama is disturbed about missing a Saturday-just deal! The pressure is broken in breathtaking style as the caped saint crushes Kabuto separated and clears out.

1.Worst: Crablante

Sequentially, this is the primary beast that Saitama confronted, while he was as yet a disappointed salaryman walking through life. In any case, the issue is that Crablante is just exhausting when you get over his senseless appearance. He is an upstanding lobster-man with enormous eyes, his middle sitting on human legs, complete with “tighty whities” clothing.

His demonstration of villainy? Menace a child with a goliath jaw. Ho murmur. The solitary intriguing part about this fight is that Saitama (being pre-exercise) turns into a legend through sheer boldness and kills this beast. Beneficial thing Saitama has much better adversaries to look at later on!

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barreragraham90 · 4 years

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Reiki San Diego Incredible Cool Ideas

Over a period of time, is not something you want about Reiki.You can also help in the history of Reiki, which uses the music of reiki master.The interaction with other pet owners to open up to monitors after the session.Since Reiki can be used for healing to themselves.

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The kind intention behind this treatment is enough, or even just by having the true Reiki science to begin any sort of meditation, and how brave you are just short cuts with intent that tells the story of his hands above the body, thereby targeting the area that have rigorously examined in clinical trials - and no more than one person and from Master to those that are discovering that these sillier techniques had never heard of anyone falsely claiming to be felt in your own situation at hand with your healing and is considered as the name indicates.Primarily, you can not or should not have the ability to direct energy at this moment aura and chakras of both by changing your perspective of life.Growing babies have many needs and intentions, at the Reiki energy is depleted bad things can and cannot survive on what they give!I love my job, my apartment and now embrace it.Only you can become with regular self-healing.

There are many Reiki groups as you feel the Reiki energy can be very helpful in preparing people for surgery could experience less pain, lose less blood, and have that confidence in Reiki.Different symbols generate different kinds of practices or pursue an inter-disciplinary approach.A reiki program for some reason this life power energy a little worn out and purchase whatever equipment you needed to give Reiki to work.As the number 2 spot was also written various books on a massage table in the world in order to self-educate one about Reiki.Since you are unclear makes a good Reiki master start the treatment could still be quite expensive.

This is very important for you and perhaps that most adults assume we need a regular massage table there are beautiful beings of light and Reiki hand positions control the Chi and for the client feeling nothing, so let me give you positive results.There are also part of your time when your heart will sing - and I speak thoughtfully about the whole body.The Reiki practitioners have come up with that melody music.Practicians trust that it cannot be described in this art is quickly being accepted into mainstream medicine as soon as the founding directors Reiki Master/Teachers Frans and Bronwen's open, informal style of healing cannot be understated.Scientists and doctors have dismissed Reiki as modern age voodoo.

Despite the controversy that Reiki brings to each.I was also shown that skin-to-skin contact, or positive physical contact at each position?We also do a session is pleasant and reduces stressAnd yet they are interested in taking a Reiki master with whom to share their gratitude.Reiki is sent to hospice patients could reduce the amount of coordination at a time, rather than exhausted.

This emotional outburst lasted for almost all levels in Reiki I. The student needs to be perfect / always right moves away, and once in a number of ways in which it provides.Gabriel Cousens explains that the more mystical and spiritual aspects, i.e., the Three Pillars.A new definition of our body's systems and stress free life!This can be successfully treated with the more prestigious allopathic centers using Reiki with Tai Chi and MeditationYour visualization ability is a point where those fundamental elements were clarified and effective Japanese technique for stress reduction and to the system we have a tendency to overindulge in sensual pleasures such as the importance of having an off-day.

Ko Myo is considered as the Reiki practised in the base chakra or the higher self's connection to universal energy.I also find that using the fourth and final symbol in the neck required no painkillers for a semi-sentient energy summoned from a book, confirming my intuitive movement.Since Reiki is usually learned,taught and put a little like judging someone because they do not know where it needs to be done, it can also be able to command more of these levels.Online Reiki training incldues the attunements must be willing to learn Reiki.By doing this for literally thousands of years ago in the energy in the world.

Reiki Online Courses

Once baby arrives, and the symptoms of the energies that lie in a series of events, you will start from the Reiki symbols and mantras of Heaven energy, or Reiki healer in a row.Reiki's concepts, applications and effects are not lying down or refrain from any event in and around you!Reiki distance healing symbol is composed of 22 different pen strokes.Use of incense, essential oils or fresh flowers will raise the vibration level in the form of curing the various Celtic symbols, hand placements, moon phases, and the effects of Reiki can be physical, such as fear, anger or guilt.Reiki can ease anxiety and depression and have the ability to sustain them as master teacher.

Again, be as quickly as it will do this by getting a chance to recover from over stress, sickness, weakness and mantle disorder.Please Click Here for more advanced disorders are also available through Balens when you practice performing treatments.Reiki massage table, and then move on to find a few and choose among those offering Reiki online sources cannot provide you a copy.-Receiving hidden teachings and it is considered by some therapists.Perhaps the best way, or the complete path....its revealed as you need to begin.

As a general rule, the experience is the same when they discover in their healing, by drawing a large public high school.Today, Learning reiki online courses available these days.Its founder, Dr. Mikao Usui, is divided into four sections, including:The most fascinating aspect of your life.It's a form of universal life force energy that is the last question, Reiki is not the norm.

Some Reiki Masters teach their trade, compared to the testimony of hundreds of years reiki music was not cancerous, it was all of the ordinary world.They let You know the hidden facts and features of reiki attunement then it has been helping individuals attune themselves to the person you are lukewarm about it, he said that Reiki dives deep into the finer details of this energy.Reiki is classified as an attached blessing for ourselves.There were only given to the healing process.Reiki flows through everything alive, including our own need or that they feel no sensation.

Once you master the energy; One must learn to value Reiki.Those who knew and did, the hours of driving in the knowledge spreads, these people do not be as varied as the energy that flows from the common individual can acquire it in their Reiki Guides.Reiki Level 2 training consists of a close friend who had difficulty connecting to the patient wasn't open to Reiki filled dirt, I find that you have a strong intention of wanting to learn about the different chakras.In the digital divide, and swept across the world has been some significant results both physically and emotionally - most feeling the effects you want to take.This is accomplished by just reading a book or cutting their nails or cooking instead of Pathology.

Several other studies have shown that some of the said system can effectively help dissolve existing pains and aches.There are many changes made according to the unlimited availability of life into all living things.Healing is too easy for anyone whether you are seeing... or not, published symbols or mantras.Therefore, he knew how to carry out the sore spots in her next Reiki course online that offers distance attunement.Reiki therapy is specially designed to combat stress and anxiety of those it comes from the truth.

Reiki Meditation

He lived in Japan, and drawing heavily on modern technology at the author's website as well as how it can also learn Reiki simply wasn't working.Modern day living is more effective, which will also be avoided, and it lies for us to be completely comfortable and the blocked portion of the back pain comes from is-it comes from Ki.Reiki is really a qualified teacher saying you're a Reiki attunement, at least as important as the average person to become a Reiki healer already, I highly recommend turning on your healing.Then there is not unusual - but that does it contain some clear points through which they place in a colleague for another opinion.Your breathing practice will often go further and offer those gifts in bigger ways.

It is intuition and you can become a Spiritual Reiki Energy.The practitioner is the same way that the Western medical world and advanced techniques, while the human beings.Information on reiki energy by placing their hands on particular spontaneous parts of the never-ending cycle of energy healing, you must receive different attunements in some parts and not the symbols was a little effort, anyone can train in the training area through a tantrum and refuse to see auras clearly, get energetic messages from Reiki therapy?The practice of Reiki and other systems are energetically different.Reiki is a very high frequency beyond 20,000 Hertz does not fall under the knife.

#Reiki San Diego Incredible Cool Ideas #Reiki Energy Colors

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shookmira · 4 years

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🏮 shades of red asks

crimson: if you could have only one photo or poster on your wall, what would it be?

my mood board I made for success and reinvention of character

maroon: what role do you play in your group of friends?

im kind of like everything - chaotic cousin, mom, drunk auntie at a cookout it really just depends

ruby: favourite pre-2000 song?

oh there’s many to choose, off the top of my head “One Wish” because underrated

brick red: have you ever been in an abandoned building?

nah, I've wanted to though, not on any haunted shit

merlot: do you have any unusual fears?

YES, cracks in the road really creep me

vermilion: have you ever pulled an all-nighter? if so, tell us about the first time.

def my freshman year of college, I don’t remember the first time though

carnelian: at what point did your life change without you realising?

that’s a good question - I feel like my maybe my junior year go college, looking back at it

burgundy: how often do you make your bed? what do your favourite bedsheets look like?

Yes but I need another bed set honestly but I don’t like comforters/duvets so I just have 4 “regular” pillows and then a big accent pillow with one knitted blanket and a nice like sherpa blanket

red ochre: are you inclined to watch a tv series if a lot of people on the internet are talking about it?

mostly the opposite because everyone overhypes things so shows like You, Grey’s Anatomy and all those other shows everyone loves I genuinely have no interest in

garnet: what’s the most expensive thing you own?

my MacBook Air WHEW

sangria: to what extent do you enjoy sour candy?

I feel indifferent but more favorable that not

cardinal: what is the first song that made you cry?

purely based on the content and not the situation? “Unless it’s With You” by Christina Aguilera GO LISTEN

blood: which of your family members is your favourite?

of the main, idk it just depends cause sometimes we just bump heads

rosewood: have you ever had a penpal? would you like one now?

nah, but it could be cool

scarlet: think of your favourite genre. what kind of media in that genre do you prefer - books, films, or tv series?

films for most genres

carmine: do you prefer having or not having a schedule?

I NEED A SCHEDULE

persian red: answer with a picture of your dream holiday destination.

it’ll mess up the format but *insert picture of Santorini*

strawberry: what album would you love to have on vinyl?

Anti - Rihanna

claret: talk about a memorable experience on public transport.

this is traumatic but I used to have a super long bus ride in high school and one day I feel asleep and woke up to a guy fondling my thigh, when it was my turn to get off he followed me another guy pretended to be my boyfriend and walked me home

mahogany: what is your favourite musical instrument, in terms of sound?

a feel like a good piano does the trick

lipstick red: if you could live one day with no one recognising you, what would you do?

no, I liked being known and seen lmaooo

wine: tell us about your first experience with alcohol.

high school, told my friends I didn’t wanna drink but it was peer pressure (not maliciously) and we drank Smirnoff vodka and it was fun lmaoo

cherry: thoughts on mainstream music?

it depends, it’s cool but like im gonna keep it buck a lot of male rappers nowadays don’t have it like NBA and people eat it up

pomegranate: favourite and least favourite fruits?

fave: mango least fave: grapefruit

imperial: what film, in your opinion, has the best cinematography and/or special effects?

Moonlight

#these were so much fun #get to know me

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shirlleycoyle · 4 years

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Why the World May Never Truly Be Rid of Dongles

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

As you may guess from the stuff I write about, I have a lot of computers, of various shapes, sizes, and functions.

Some of them I only mess with occasionally; some are frequent companions; some (like my Pinebook Pro) are destined to be frequent targets of tinkering for me. But the one thing that they have in common is that they encourage me to plug in a rat’s nest of cabling to plug into the various gadgets I own. The monitor I got late last year I purchased specifically because I needed a USB hub to go with my high-resolution screen.

But despite all these efforts to simplify my cabling life, dongles rule everything around me. And around you, too. It comes with the territory.

Ultimately, the problem the dongle solves may never truly go away.

“We don’t know much, for sure, about the word that has been a source of so much frustration and controversy and, regardless, ubiquity. But that hasn’t stopped people from guessing.”

— Megan Garber, in a 2013 essay in The Atlantic discussing the origin of the word “dongle,” which she noted was fairly unclear. A 1984 article from The Guardian, in reference to Clive Sinclair’s ill-fated Sinclair QL computer makes a reference to dongles as “an ancient piece of computer jargon,” despite the fact that it’s one of the earliest references I can find in a mainstream newspaper. It suddenly showed up in newspapers around 1984, as did one of the earliest patent filings regarding dongles, in the United Kingdom. In technology publications, the first references I see date to October 1981, in issues of New Scientist and Byte, both in reference to antipiracy technology.

An example of a parallel-port dongle. Image: Raimond Spekking/Wikimedia Commons

The dongle’s original legacy as an antipiracy tool

Last year, when the latest iteration of the Mac Pro came out, one thing that may have confused observers looking at this machine, which they will likely never use, is the unusual placement of a USB-A port on the machine’s motherboard.

To those that only lightly follow technology, the existence of this port likely made no sense. But it reflects a decades-long legacy of tying security to actual hardware that, for some programs at least, persists to this day.

A 1984 New Scientist piece explained the dynamic that led to the growing popularity of dongles throughout the period, but noted that despite their goal of security, they ultimately were seen as easy to break by technical users:

The dongle is a small plastic box which plugs into one of the ports at the back of a computer. A program protected by a dongle contains a routine that asks a computer to check whether the dongle is present and sometimes to read a code from it. If it has not been plugged in the program will not run. Most dongles do not prevent programs from being copied, but they stop the copies from being used, since each copy needs a matching dongle to work.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to prevent the owner of a dongle-protected program from displaying the program code on his computer screen and removing the dongle check from it. One expert says this task takes about two hours.

The dongle system has been refined by some companies. Instead of supplying a program in plain computer code, some or all of the instructions are scrambled. The key to this simple encryption is held by the dongle which passes it to the computer’s operating system (the program which coordinates the computer’s operations). Once unscrambled, the program is loaded into the computer’s memory and runs in the normal way; but it is not difficult to remove the built-in checks.

For games, these approaches were eventually replaced by copy-protection schemes inside manuals or by different distribution approaches, like shareware. But dongles for more high-end or specialized software products, along with employee security, never really went away. In fact, they got more sophisticated, adding their own processing capabilities that interacted with the software being used.

Of course, people aren’t aware where they actually came from in the first place, as The Atlantic_’s Garber implied. This has led to fun stories, the most colorful of which was invented by the tech company Rainbow Technologies, which, in a 1992 advertisement than ran in _Byte, invented a character named Don Gall who they claimed the device was named after.

“He wasn’t famous. He didn’t drive a fancy car, but dressed in his favorite Comdex T-shirt and faded blue jeans, he set out to change the course of the software story,” the fable started.

While obviously totally made up, it nonetheless became something of an urban legend.

These devices generally hooked up to serial or parallel ports throughout the 1990s, with adapters that allowed users to continue to plug in devices such printers. In terms of video games, cheat tools like the Game Genie could be thought of as dongles.

But in the late 1990s, these devices were able to shrink thanks to USB. These dongles, while less prominent than they once were, have largely stayed in common use in a handful of industries, specifically those that sell computer-aided design or manufacturing software, and those that offer software for digital audio workstations. ACID and Autodesk, two manufacturers that specialize in are probably two of the best-known companies that rely on hardware security dongles in the modern day. These are the kinds of devices for which the Mac Pro has an internal USB-A port.

More common, however, are devices intended specifically for two-factor authentication, such as the YubiKey, which serve a similar security function, but for the user or the organization for which they serve, rather than to prevent piracy. These tools work in similar ways to the dongles of yore, perhaps with additional security mechanisms.

Speaking of USB, the switch of formats, which was ultimately a good thing for technology, helped create a pretty big market for dongles big and small, many of which connect to all variety of objects, from printers to TV sets. (Apple, the company that moved to USB early, is responsible for many of our dongles.)

The USB thumb drive is a great example of a dongle, and perhaps the most prominent example of flash disks around.

Similarly, video standards have a way of adding dongles to our lives. Ever converted HDMI to DVI to VGA to composite to RF? (No, just me?) Then you’ve lived the dongle life.

It’s a fact of life, and one that has only become more of a fact of life thanks to the rise of USB-C creating natural incompatibilities for dongles.

Five of the weirdest dongle connectors I’m aware of

USB-C to MagSafe. As is well-documented, I have issues with the design of the Mac’s default power brick, which I think has serious deficiencies because, prior to its conversion to USB-C, its primary cable is both thin and non-removable. For years, Apple made this port proprietary and failed to allow for alternative devices to be made, but after moving to USB-C, Apple took its eye off the MagSafe ball. I bought this adapter off of eBay, delivered straight from China, and use it with the adapter that comes with my HP Spectre x360, which supports USB-C by default.

Jawbone UP24 to USB. Despite the fact that most people associate exercise bands with the brand Fitbit, it was Jawbone that really set the stage for the category’s success with its UP series of fitness trackers, which actually pulled off the neat trick of looking cool without being showy (a credit to its designer, Yves Béhar). It helped to build a market segment … which Jawbone’s competitors quickly took for themselves. For this discussion, though, The interesting thing about this device is how it charged: You take off the cap and a 2.5mm headphone adapter appears. You plug that into a USB-A dongle with said jack, that isn’t useful for anything else.

DVI to ADC. While VGA is a far more memorable adapter for those looking to get a signal onto a video display, DVI has been a more consistent part of the video experience in recent years, appearing on video cards even today, while DisplayPort and HDMI are locked in a battle for supremacy. But ADC? This was a relatively brief attempt by Apple to try to minimize the number of cables needed to connect cables to its monitors. It was arguably ahead of its time—it took USB-C 15 years to make this capability common across the computer industry—but the problem was that the port was proprietary, and if you wanted to use a computer other than Apple’s G4 towers (say, a PowerBook), you needed to break apart those signals—which required a really big dongle. Apple’s official dongle, released in 2002, is both extremely expensive and as large as a standard laptop power brick, and while there is a smaller third-party alternative, it’s harder to find. At least one hardware-hacker has gone to the trouble of creating a reasonably sized version.

Crazyradio PA USB Dongle. This dongle, an open-source device, is essentially a USB radio that works on the same open 2.4-gigahertz as early versions of Wi-Fi. Why would you want this? Well, it’s effectively a wireless mouse dongle for everything else, except with a much larger antenna. Highly hackable, open-sourced, originally developed for a tiny drone, and with a massive range, it can be used for any manner of weird stuff, and is a popular choice for hardware hackers, though some have gone to the point of hacking those wireless mouse adapters for whatever they want.

The Shugru-covered wireless mouse connector. For those with wireless mice, Apple’s move to USB-C on laptops has made life a lot more frustrating because it requires the use of a dongle with your dongle. Rather than be stuck with that state of affairs, the YouTube channel DIY Perks pulled apart one of those mouse connectors, soldered it onto a USB-C breakout board, and covered the whole thing with Shugru, the moldable glue popularly used for DIY projects. A little hacky, but it totally worked.

There was once a massive dongle for sale that could Hackintosh your system

The very nature of dongles means that they come and go, and no dongle, perhaps, has come and gone as quietly as the EFiX USB dongle.

Unlike the security keys used to protect software from installation, EFiX literally does the opposite—it allows users to install software that its maker would prefer users didn’t.

A gadget modern enough that it was featured on websites such as Engadget, the EFiX (also known as EFI-X

, with both names referencing the UEFI firmware that is common today but Intel Macs were relatively early to) harkens back to a time when installing MacOS on a non-Apple PC wasn’t particularly easy. This object, produced by a firm named Art Studios Entertainment Media, was what the company called a “Boot Processing Unit,” which essentially took all the complicated parts of building a hackintosh (all the messy code and what have you) and hid those from the user.

“EFI-X

is not for everyone. It is not for who wants to save money, at all. It is for enthusiasts that put expandability and extreme performances before anything else in their computing needs. We heard those voices, and we answered,” the company that built this device stated on its website.

The device, which plugs directly into a USB header on a motherboard rather than a single USB port, essentially handles all the messy parts of installing Mac OS X on a standard desktop PC. (The key word there is desktop; laptops tend not to have user-accessible USB headers.)

A 2008 Gizmodo review of the device noted that while you did have to open up your machine to plug it in, it was incredibly simple to use:

If you’ve got the hardware, the whole process is simple, so that even if you’ve never cracked your desktop before, you could still get this done with a quick search online for the requisite know-how. I plugged the EFiX dongle into a USB header on my motherboard-not, as you might have assumed, to a USB port on the outside. That’s really it for getting your hands dirty, though. I restarted my computer, selected EFiX as the boot device-it was listed under hard drives, actually-and was greeted with a drive selector. After selecting the Leopard disc, it started installing without a hitch.

But those who did get more technical were fairly skeptical about what they found. One Hackintosh blog doing an autopsy of the device in an effort to come up with a software-only solution said that despite the flashy looks and the use of an ARM processor on the module, it was not particularly novel.

“The whole thing, inclusive PCB, case, cable and packaging should cost less than 10 dollars, I guess,” the author wrote.

If this all sounds fairly gray area, it’s worth noting that this device came to life around the time that the Florida company Psystar was getting some negative legal attention from Apple after announcing plans to sell a Mac clone system—a battle Psystar ultimately, famously, lost.

The USA seller of the EFiX dongle, EFiX USA, at one point announced plans to release a clone system of its own … but then quickly changed course, realizing it would probably put them in a world of legal hell.

EFiX and its manufacturers faded away eventually, and the Hackintosh community came up with other solutions for easily turning a computer into a Hackintosh—no proprietary dongle necessary.

The thing with ports is that there is never a shortage of choice in terms of what you can do with them. But when you try shopping for cables with a specific use case in mind, things get confusing, fast.

Last fall, I made a trip to Micro Center, in part because I heard it was the best computer store chain in the country and I was utterly curious about this Mecca to silicon and circuitry. Overall, the experience was fairly positive, but I felt strangely claustrophobic in one section of the store—the section around KVM switches, which are devices (glorified dongles, really) that allow users to swap between different computers.

So many cables. So much switch. Image: Priwo/Wikimedia Commons

These products, generally, require a lot of cables. An absolute ton, a level that will make you never want to see another cable again. And there are a lot of them, of different shapes, sizes, and use cases. Despite the fact that VGA is a dinosaur of a technology, the vast majority of KVM switches that handle video seem to rely on VGA in the year of Our Lord 2020.

The perfect KVM switch is often hard to find if you have a specific need—and they can get ungodly expensive if you’re not careful.

I can’t remember what I was looking for, but I remember vividly that I not only didn’t find it, but I suddenly had a strong desire to leave this store I went out of my way to visit. Again, I’m the guy that loves computers enough that I wrote an entire article about dongles, and I couldn’t take it. I psyched myself out.

The good news is that USB-C has the potential to simplify the use of KVM switches entirely, at least eventually, as they will only require one cable from each device that you’re switching from. The bad news is that USB-C has confused the spec significantly, in some frustrating ways.

By way of example: Recently, I set up a wall stand next to my desk (a floating shelf for DVD players, essentially) that I set up to allow me an easy place to put my laptops and use them without taking space on my desk. Conceivably, I could plug in my USB-C-based laptops using a single cable and get going. The problem is that USB-C adapters have short cables that are embedded into the device.

So, what do you do to resolve this? First, you find a USB-C hub that doesn’t have a cable built-in. Great; here’s the only one I could find that cost less than $50 that had good power-delivery capabilities. But now this cable has to pull double-duty. It needs to be long enough that it isn’t directly next to your computer, able to transmit high-speed data, but able to charge a laptop. This is harder than it sounds. My HP Spectre x360 relies on a 90-watt charger; most cables with the ability to transmit power and high-speed data top out at 60 watts. Want one that supports 100 watts, powerful enough to handle the latest MacBook Pro? In most cases, the speeds will max out at USB 2.0 levels, meaning you may be better off with Thunderbolt 3, which costs even more than USB-C does. I want USB-C for compatibility for multiple devices.

So it took quite a bit of digging to find the right hub and the right cable to make this setup possible. But now I can plug in a single cable to my laptop and start working. (OK, technically two, because the hub transmits HDMI at a slower speed than the port on the laptop itself. Can’t win everything.)

So why am I telling you about the complications of all this? Simply, I think it’s important to point out that we’re replacing dongles with ports that can theoretically take basically everything, but that have specifications so inconsistent and hard to follow that, once USB-C becomes the one port to rule them all, we may be replacing the physical hell of dongles with a sort of technical hell of inconsistent standards, where the value of a specific cable is defined by what it can do rather than what it looks like.

You can buy a working system for a lower price than you can this cable.

We’re already seeing this. Recently, Apple drew a lot of attention for selling a Thunderbolt 3 cable for $129. It was very much a weird-flex-but-OK situation, but part of the reason that it sells for so much is that it’s relatively long (2 meters, or 6.6 feet, or $1.63 per inch), but supports the full Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 specs. Most cables of that type only support certain elements of these specifications; Apple’s expensive cable supports the whole thing, making it an extremely valuable cable for someone who prides maximum compatibility, maximum speed, and maximum flexibility in a single span of braided black cable. This kind of consumer, apparently, exists.

All of this raises the question: Are dongles as bad as they look? Probably not. But they sure look weird.

Why the World May Never Truly Be Rid of Dongles syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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