#spoilers only exist in a quantum state

[emry-stars-art]

I don’t know if you know this but I love a good royal au just as much if not more than a mer au… so when someone mentioned it at the beginning of May and i went for the thematic mermay instead I vowed I would come come back to the subject. Sketch dump time

Enter young king Aaron and prince Andrew, who recently were assigned new personal guards but Andrew is starting to realize every other word out of Abram’s mouth is only a half-truth if not an outright lie… what could he possibly have to hide

#Things We’ve Decided: #1) Aaron and Katelyn’s marriage was arranged but they’re both very happy and love each other #2) Andrew takes one look at Abram’s ball/festivity uniform while on duty and says absolutely not #put this man in a corset #3) abram only pretends he knows how to use a sword #in reality he’s much more comfortable with daggers and other small weapons he can conceal easily #for reasons obviously #4) Kevin ran away from evermore kingdom/castle and is now the twin’s advisor in training #under wymack’s tutelage #5) lady dan wilds is Aaron’s guard #beyond that is either heavy spoilers or outright undecided/not thought about at all #who am I kidding it’s an au #spoilers only exist in a quantum state #BUT IF YOURE CURIOUS AND WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT #MY DMS ARE OPEN ALL THE TIME #uhhhhh yeah #sketch dump #aftg #fan art #neil josten #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #royal au #all for the game #my art

[koncussionkat]

Monstrous Regiment II

Some people have asked for more thoughts, and I can’t help it. I went to see if there were discussion posts on this but couldn’t really find any. SPOILER for Monstrous Regiment.

Polly has a complicated relationship with her mother from the small snippets we get of her past, which transfers to that of the Duchess. The Duchess is the highest noblewoman and the leader of the country. She lost her husband when she was young and had no children. Due to this, she kept herself locked away, and no one has seen her in years. If she has died, then the country belongs to a neighboring prince who is currently fighting to take over the country regardless. The Duchess exists as long as no one opens the box to check her quantum state. Everyone prays to the Duchess, and there are pictures of her everywhere—at least one in every house.

Polly’s parent's bar and inn is even called “The Duchess.” The sign has a picture of the Duchess on it, and after her mother's death, her father can’t be bothered to keep up with cleaning the sign. The sign now has bird poop on it, which don’t even get me started on the birds. That is a whole other thing. It is a sign that belief is dying. The feeling of losing the war is settling in but hasn’t been spoken aloud. To join the army, you must kiss the Duchess and swear loyalty. Even the soldiers who hold no love for the Duchess have to do this. People are dying in the Duchess’ name. Polly is followed and can’t help but always think of the Duchess.

This is the start of the book. This is the very beginning. She thinks of her mother and how she gave rites to the Duchess every night, and she can’t take the glaring judgment. Is this the judgment of the Duchess or her mother? It doesn’t matter. She knows what she has to do. She has to rescue her brother; she has to care for her brother as she has always done. Her Mother is absent unless it is to hand out punishment or to lecture, much like their god and his abominations.

Then we are introduced to Wazzer, who Sir Terry Pratchett treats as a Joan of Arc character. Wazzer can converse with the Duchess. Wazzer can hear the Duchess; the most heartbreaking moment comes when she says she mostly hears the Duchess crying.

At the end of the day, the Duchess is only a woman. She is not a god; her people have been praying and begging for her help, and she can only change things in small ways. She cannot stop the river from moving, which changes the borders and causes most of their battles; she can’t cure the sick and can’t be there. She is an absent parent damned to hear about her children, like the Christian God. The Christian god sent his son to be sacrificed to save those who called out to them. The Duchess is sending this pack of women in to attempt the same. She is attempting to give them a chance.  

She uses her command one more time to rally her people in a way she never did when living. She is passing on the mantle to the children of Borogravia. The line ‘Find yourself a worthier god’ chills. Polly attempts to do this after the war. She has outgrown the Duchess and small beliefs. She is finally letting go of it. There is still a need for belief, though, and what that is is a bit of a mystery, at least to myself. You can think that Polly is more confident now and has become her own belief. Or it could be the belief that there is no one thing or idol to believe in. I would love to know what people think. What is large enough to care for?

  I am tittering on rambling, so I am going to end this one here, but PLEASE tell me your thoughts.

#discworld #Polly Perks #The Duchess #Wazzer #Monstrous Regiment #Monstrous Regiment Spoiler

[crowbawt]

Quantum Physics and Warframe Pt. 1: The Quantum Handshake

Warning: Massive spoilers for all released content

With my "I have no credentials I just like Warframe" disclaimer out of the way, let's talk quantum physics. When I first played The New War, a particular visual immediately stood out to me: the handshake. Handshakes are repeated throughout the quest: there's the initial Warframe to Operator to Lotus desperation grab, The Man in the Wall "deal," and the Drifter Operator synchronicity handshake. A visual of a handshake is even the UI icon for switching between Operator and Drifter during gameplay. Beyond being a common visual shorthand for making deals, I strongly believe this meant to directly invoke the concept referred to as a "quantum handshake." What is a quantum handshake? Here's my attempt at a simplified explanation:

Quantum physics deals with probability and uncertainty. The most famous thought experiment is that of Schrödinger's cat, which is referenced in The New War as one of the pop quiz questions:

"Lintana's parents have been captured, but she has a choice. The button that opens her mother's cell door will flood her father's cell with deadly radiation, and vice versa. She presses one of the buttons. Under Eternalism, which of the following statements is universally true?"

Correct answer: "Her parents will survive. Her parents will die."

This is a variation of the classic scenario, in which Schrödinger asks us to imagine a cat inside of a box that onlookers are unable to see the interior of and containing a flask of poison. The poison has a release trigger dependent on whether a specific subatomic particle decays or not, which can be considered as random chance. The experiment posits that, until the box is opened and the outcome seen by an "observer," the cat exists in a state that is both dead and alive. This state of uncertainty between multiple possible outcomes is known as quantum superposition. When the box is opened and the cat is observed as dead or alive, the result is locked into that particular outcome, at which point the superposition collapses.

This concept of superposition, as far as modern science has determined, is a very real thing, although only on extremely small scale, (not anything as complex as the life as a cat) and there's still a lot of questions we don't have answers to about the exact mechanism, where superposition stops and ends, or even what counts as an "observer." (The most practical idea is that observation = any other particle interacting with the one in question, the most philosophical abstract interpretations involve the necessity of consciousness.)

One of the biggest questions left by Schrödinger's scenario is: where in time does the superposition actually collapse? This part is a little harder for me to explain, but I'll try: You open the box, you see that the cat is dead. Because the cat is dead, you know that at some point while in the box the subatomic particle decayed and released the poison. However, the experiment necessitates that the cat was in a state of dead/alive superposition up until the point you opened the box and observed it... but you also know that the cat died at some point in time prior to you opening the box... but until you opened the box, the cat wasn't locked into being dead, but now that you have, you know the cat did die at some point before you opened it, and so on and so on. This is considered one of the classic paradoxes of quantum theory, and we know how much Warframe loves the term paradox. Anyway, this conundrum is what finally leads us to the idea of the quantum handshake, which is an attempt to figure out an actual mechanism to explain how superposition collapse happens through time. The simplest explanation is as follows:

You open the box. You see the cat is dead. The superposition collapses into a single known outcome: dead cat. This result ripples backwards in time to interact with the point where the atom decayed and released the poison, the previous indeterminate state and the observed outcome "catching up" with each other, aligning so that the cat had always been dead in the box, as a retroactive consequence of the box being opened. This synchronization of outcome through time is what's known as a quantum handshake. This is, as far as I could tell, one of the more esoteric theories in quantum physics, and far from proven science, but it is a legitimate part of the ongoing debate.

So, how does this apply to Warframe and its story? Well for one, this idea is also called the "transactional" interpretation of quantum physics... and a transaction is a pretty good descriptor of our deal with Wally, isn't it? His offer to "save all of them" is a transaction, one to be sealed with a handshake. On the Zariman, Quinn alludes to this, saying: "This is a place where great and terrible bargains were struck."

What I believe is even more telling is what happens directly after we accept Wally's outstretched hand: we see multiple representations of our operator collapsing one by one until settling on a single version of ourselves, hands clasped with the Drifter. Remember that a quantum superposition resolving down to a single outcome is called a "collapse." I believe showing us various Operators falling down is meant to be a literal visual, and upon making the deal with Wally, all other possible fates of our Operator collapse down into one single truth: We said yes to his transaction. The box is opened, the Operator survived, the quantum handshake ripples through time and aligns all other outcomes to a single result.

Remember that Ordis asks the Drifter how they lost their "Tenno magic" and Drifter replies: "I didn't. More like... I don't have it yet." The quantum handshake has yet to reach them, but it inevitably will. I don't think it is a coincidence that our Operator channels their Void energy through their hand either, as their hand was their point of contact (contract) with Wally. It's also worth noting that the reliquary drive that allows Void travel contains a finger from one of Wally's hands, severed when his attempted handshake with Albrecht was interrupted. The theme of a handshake is present in Duviri as well, with the Lotus' severed hand forcibly attaching itself to Drifter's and this giving them the power to cause change in a world that was previously stagnant. I've seen people speculating that when Wally extends his hand on the Zariman for the Operator to shake, he is actually extending the severed hand of the Lotus. Looking at screenshots, it's a bit hard to tell for certain due to the Void sfx overlay, but the shape does seem to match up. I could certainly see this as on purpose as it ties into the theme quite well.

There's hints that the Lotus has been affected by Wally in some of her dialogue, and after the ending scene where the Big Freaky Wall appears with Wally atop it wearing her hat, she stops and stares at her own smoking hand before collapsing.

This would possibly explain why her "handshake" with the Drifter in Duviri grants them abilities like Transference. Exactly what this means for the Lotus hasn't been revealed yet, but I do believe the Lotus is now somehow caught up in our deal with Wally.

#[loreframe] #[quantum physics and warframe] #[long post] #warframe spoilers #again don't yell at me if I'm wrong i'm just speculating for fun

[denimbex1986]

'The major relevance of the film “Oppenheimer” (spoiler alert) goes well beyond debates about the atomic bomb and the instrumentality of constellations of power. It’s inherent in the movie’s most seminal question and when it comes to J. Robert Oppenheimer the man. That’s the question of how to create something the likes of which had never existed.

In Oppenheimer’s case, it was the atomic bomb, which for the first time gave humanity the means to destroy itself. (This column won’t be dealing with the catastrophe of its success, which isn’t really connected to Oppenheimer the man, but rather human nature more generally.) Oppenheimer’s supreme power was his imagination – his capacity to see and understand what others still hadn’t understood. It’s not necessarily because he was the greatest physicist or mathematician, but instead thanks to his devotion to the abstract and his naivete. He wasn’t naïve in the innocent sense but in the sense of someone who was almost always moving forward along his own path based on his fundamental faith in the world, in its development and in humankind. Even at the end, when there were efforts to destroy him that almost succeeded, he stuck to this same naivete.

He didn’t fight the wheeler-dealers and politicians, as his wife urged him to do. He stuck to who he was, to what he saw and felt and understood, as well as his faith in human beings. He therefore didn’t suspect those who spied against him, and tried to ignore the person who sought to undermine him. In the film, when Albert Einstein suggests that he leave the United States, he answers simply that he really loves the country.

Note Oppenheimer’s naivete. Any revolutionary, creative step that doesn’t also include naivete is doomed to failure. Only someone who is naïve can really lead a revolution. This was also the personal quality that sent Oppenheimer overseas to study quantum physics when the field was still disdained in America. That’s also what led him to support the Spanish Civil War and workers’ rights, without joining the Communist Party.

That’s another personal trait characteristic of his path – the capacity to be on the inside and outside at the same time. He was able to be part of the system and worked within it and had high regard for it, but at the same time looked at it with a critical, skeptical eye.

He never turned the system into a Golden Calf, even when it made him king. So even in those moments of greatest glory, when most of the people were devoted to it and served it, he chose to fight against the bomb that he had invented. This was a clear case of self-cannibalism – and which saved him in the end.

Throughout the film, Oppenheimer was constantly moving forward with his endless research about the universe in its deepest sense. He focused on the material – on physics – but also on the spiritual, on great ideas (Marx) and on poetry and literature. His understanding of the need to actually build a city from scratch, Los Alamos, in order to build something that had never been built before, was derived from that perspective, which combined the material and the spiritual. He had an understanding that creating something from nothing required not just a nuclear reactor but a bubbling, living human crucible comprised of every segment of human existence, and a belief in them is a key insight.

Oppenheimer’s Los Alamos is like Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai’s Yavneh and its sages after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It’s that same deep wisdom through which people create a future – a foundation forged by wise people and the space of the kind that is essential to cultivate what had been inconceivable. In our own times of greatness, when humanity’s – and Israeli society’s – most fundamental challenge is to recreate itself (socially, economically and existentially), Oppenheimer, with his self-cannibalism, naivete, pretention and faith in human beings and the spirit, is an important lesson for us all.'

#Oppenheimer #Los Alamos

[phairfantooooom]

Obey Me Explained….. Kinda

In which I do my best to explain the shit hell that is the Time Travel in Obey Me. 

Spoilers: It’s absolute bullshit

So we start in chapter uhhh 15 technically since the plot twist is explained that Barbatos is actually a OP Time Wizard, which feels like a throwaway plot device… like dude there are so many ideas and you use Time Travel? Come on.

However I do appreciate the Yugioh Pyramid room. Good taste.

Anyways Barbatos gives you VERY CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO NOT FUCK UP and what does MC do? Why THEY FUCKING BREAK VERY FUCKING RULE IN THE LAWS OF TIME TRAVEL. *screams in quantum physics*

Barbatos’ Rules of Time Traveling (It’s more so Timeline Hopping but you know what, I can scream all day but it won’t change anything)

Do not reveal you are from the future (More like don’t reveal you are from a different Timeline or Universe)

Do not meet your past self (Hello??? Doppelgängers??? Stay the FUCK away)

Don’t make contact with others from the past. (Go back, observe how Belphie got out and then get the hell out)

To get back to this point in time (Read: Timeline) you need to KNOCK and ENTER through the door you used to get to the past 

Now you may be thinking, Huh? What door? I don’t remember going back through a door in the story…

And you would be right. You didn’t.

From here I’ll be explaining the Timeline and order of events and speculation as to why it occurred the way it did. 

For reference. There is the Original Timeline. Which is OT1, this is the Timeline of chapters 1 to the end of 15.

The Second Timeline, OT2 is the Timeline where Belphie kills you.

The Third and Final Timeline, OT3 is the Timeline we are currently in. Which is from Chapter 16-12 and onwards.

Alright now that’s out of the way let’s get this shit sorted shall we?

When you go through the wack time travel door you are sent back to Chapter 12-13, to the perspective of the brothers as they hide so that THIS TIMELINES YOU can go romance/befriend/ WHATEVER Lucifer. 

So we start with OT1’s MC dropping into Mammon’s bedroom. You know, possibly fortnite like. With everyone in there. Worst possible outcome. And rather than fucking BOLTING, you stay and chat. You know, despite being told not to. You have the option to lie about how you ended up in the room but it doesn’t change the FACTS.

At this point, there are two MC’s. One from OT1 and one that is currently vibing with Lucifer.

The boys end up kicking you out of the room and telling you to go chit chat with Lucifer, unaware that there is already a different version of you doing that.

So you hear Lucifer and your other self coming down the hall and this is where shit starts to get weird.

Regardless of which option you choose (Run, Hide, Turn Invisible- which by the way seems kinda like a weird option right? I’ll get to that later) you end up going into Lilith’s room.

Now. Directly from the transcript.

It’s so warm in here.

I recognize this place. It feels like someplace I know very well.

Now. Time to over analyze. You may be wondering why this matters. I’ll get to that in a bit I promise.

It’s stated that it’s warm. But really that doesn’t make sense. The room is stagnant. Nobody comes in or out. The room is abandoned since Lilith is dead and nobody uses it. However, I have a theory that Lilith is spiritually attached to your body which is why you sense what you feel.

Lilith probably has plenty of memories of sitting by the FIREPLACE in her room with Beel and Belphie. A lot of times people with spirit attachments get senses of déjà vu when they are near places that the Spirit used to frequent when the Spirit was alive.

The next area of weirdness is Leviathan. He comes in, unannounced and addresses you as if you were Lilith.

Transcript:

I’m coming in, okay?

Aha, I thought I’d find you in here.

Wait, Belphie’s not here?

Huh, that’s weird… He was just telling me that he was going to stop by your room.

Both of you were playing hide-and-seek, right?

He said he couldn’t find you. He looked like he was about to cry.

Why don’t you try to go find Belphie yourself? I mean, I guess it’s hard to say who’s it at that point, but still.

Well, see ya later.

Alright. So we have a lot to unwrap here, but I’ll make it short and sweet. Something clearly happened when you KNOCKED and ENTERED Lilith’s room (Hint Hint Nudge Nudge) What happened you ask? You jumped timelines. Which is why everything seems disjointed and jarring. It’s not supposed to be normal or feel normal, the game is subtly telling you that you aren’t supposed to be there.

Time is beginning to fray at the seams and when you exit the room you jump into another timeline AGAIN. As you go to the stairs to get to Belphie which you would think should be vacant, they are not.

From a casual players perspective you’d think oh! Well Lucifer and past me are in the living room, and the brothers are in Mammon’s room. So it’s all clear, right?

Wrong.

From the moment you exited Lilith’s bedroom you entered the OT2 Timeline. Which takes place roughly right after Lucifer imprisons Belphie in the attic. And at this point in time, you haven’t arrived in the Devildom yet.

I make this assumption based on the transcript:

Belphegor: What scares you is the thought of disappointing Diavolo, isn’t it?!

Say something! Lucifer!

The old Lucifer wasn’t like this. He wasn’t afraid of what someone else thought of him. He wasn’t pathetic like that.

Lucifer: You’re free to think whatever you want, Belphegor. Also…

I’d say you’ve changed as well.

It would seem weird for them to be arguing like this in the present since it’s like. Wow y’all are really just arguing over the same plot point for an ENTIRE year? Damn and I thought I was stubborn.

Anyways.

Lucifer comes down the stairs. You hide and yadda yadda and you goooo upstairrrrssss

Oh boy oh boy this gets FUCKED in hurry folks

So you YOU can just. Open the door. Without Lucifer’s pact? 🤔 k. And then you go and have familiar dialogue choices to wake Belphie up and blahhhhh

Let me get something off the table here. I am calling entire Bullshit on the Lilith is my ancestor origin story. I hate it and you may or may not hate it too so I’ll present a better argument.

Lilith, the lovely gal that she was, upon remembering who she was when she died decided to haunt the House of Lamentation. Which would provide reasoning as to WHY people believe the House is haunted.

When you come to the house of Lamentation to stay with the brothers you catch Lilith’s eye, and she sees that you have the potential to fix the rifts between the brothers. When she attaches herself to you she forms a pseudo pact with you. Why is this important? Because that’s how you got the dumb door open in the OT2 Timeline.

Now some of you may be screaming, BUT THEN HOW DID IT WORK IN THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE THEN HMMMM? And to that I answer. Lilith could see how the conversation between Lucifer and you was heading and she went to go unlock the door. And before you yell and say BUT SHE IS A GHOST-

Ghosts can manipulate objects, yeah? All she had to do was open the door.

Now this is my theory, in the canon of the game it uses garbage Terminator Time Travel logic which is A PARADOX. Feel free to fight me on this, I have receipts.

Anyway. You open the door. Oh but! You can choose to call out before you do. But conveniently nobody answers. Which means one of two things. Either Belphie falls asleep very quickly, or something else is at work here.

Remember those turn invisible options? Kinda strange right? I mean they wouldn’t even work anyways so why were they listed? Answer: Lilith. Lilith is a ghost so at times of being discovered it would be easy for a ghost to just vanish. That’s why it’s listed as if it were one of the choices you would instinctively make.

Belphie had just been conversing with Lucifer, and while he is the Avatar of Soth, you have seen his anger. He wouldn’t succumb to sleep while enraged. And he has no reason to ignore you either.

What do I think? 

*puts on tin foil hat like it’s a crown*

It’s because something isn’t letting him hear you.

I’ll get to that something later. First things first.

You get in the room and you have some…. choice dialogue. In OT1 Lilith had let Belphie out and naturally since she is attached to you, you have the same instinctive reaction to do the same. The difference is that you are still you. That’s why there is a Lilith choice and there is a you choice.

Transcript of Chapter 13-10

??? (Lilith):

Belphie…

Wake up…

Sorry Belphie…

Now the choices from Chapter 16-4

Wake up. (Lilith)

Belphegor. (MC)

Sorry. (Lilith)

It’s okay. (MC)

This might be over analyzing but fuck it. We ain’t here to under analyze. 

Moving right along, remember how I said we are at the point where you weren’t in the devildom? Well you went through another door, and jumped timelines again. And not ONLY that but you jump into the body of the OT2 MC, your memories are those of OT1 but you are in the body of OT2.

Where is your OT1 body? It’s hidden by the stairs patiently waiting for you to die so you can inhabit it again.

Weird right? But it makes sense, and here is why.

When Belphie brings you to the edge of death you are lying on the border of the afterlife. As such you would be a lot more susceptible to, let say, communication with ghosts.

A.k.a Our good Lilith.

ALSO NOTE Lilith never outright says she is our ancestor and as such I’m going to ignore what Diavolo says because I don’t trust him for reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy but I don’t trust him. At. All.

I’m more inclined to believe that Lilith was trying to say “Because you are my last hope.” Rather than descendant. I mean she outright says she chose you and that she has been watching over you and the brothers. Fact-check brought to you by Chapter 16-10.

Alrighty. Still here? Good.

Lilith lends you some of her power. And you pop back into existence.

Now at first I thought. Oh hey Lilith reversed time! That’s neat, now Barbatos isn’t too OP.

Except…. that’s not what happened at all.

The body you had been killed in was in Mammon’s arms. And your OT1 mind and body are now in what I call OT3. The final timeline. Not the true timeline, but the final one.

Now you really should skedaddle back to the palace and go to the yugioh room AND LEAVE 

But you get caught. And things get very very…. suspicious. History at this point IF we were time traveling would be fucked, but since I don’t believe we are, we are still golden.

ALSO TO EVEN PUSH MORE ON THIS FACT YOU HAVE A FLASHBACK TO BARBATOS TELLING YOU NOT TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH ANYONE

But a moment later Leviathan sees you. And things get funky. The OT2 you vanishes, we have canon confirmation that both OT1 and OT2 WERE REAL VERSIONS OF YOU. No fakes here folks.

Now. Here is what piqued my interest.

You explain the story of Lilith and Belphie calls you a liar before Lucifer proclaims it to be true. Then Lucifer asks you how you know about it.

When you tell him the truth, that he had told you, he denies it and asks for an explanation. Before you can so much as breathe a response someone intervenes.

Who you may ask? 

Diavolo, of course.

He makes a proclamation about you being Lilith’s descendant and your connection to her. Lucifer often tries to interject but is shut down. Every. Single. Time.

Hmmmm indeed.

Spiritual attachments, if they are strong enough can cause visions. And you may see memories from the spirit. 

I firmly want to believe that all this is bullshit in an attempt to distract us from the fact that we are not in the correct timeline. 

I mean…. did anyone notice just how easy Belphie gave in once Diavolo used the Lilith card? I mean, seriously, the guy killed you. And attempted to do so again not even five minutes earlier!

Diavolo and Barbatos don’t want you dead. And naturally you’d reason that of course they wouldn’t! The exchange program requires you to be alive after all. But what if…. there is more to it? I have reason to believe that Diavolo has more in mind than just the exchange program.

I mean this is the same man who Barbatos serves, it would be easy for him to just…. manipulate reality. We saw an example of this when the OT2 body vanished.

However keep in mind that the Diavolo and Barbatos we are speaking to are not the same as the original ones. These two are from OT3. And they might have a very very different agenda when compared to OT1.

In Chapter 16-19 we ask Barbatos if we warped history.

This is what we get back:

I know I told you that I have the power to see both the past and the future, but the truth is that there’s one more secret —something I still haven’t mentioned.

You see, I have the power to select from any number of different potential realities and make any of them into the sole reality.

Within the various potential realities, there are an infinite number of versions of MC…

...however, in the sole reality I chose, the one and only MC is the one right there. That’s why the previous MC disappeared while you remained…

Now by this logic, there are an infinite number of Barbatos’. Which poses an interesting question. OT3 Barbatos is acting as if he is OT1, which he is not. But him acting shady isn’t not the big issue here, believe it or not.

He can manipulate reality. Unravel it at his fingertips. He himself could have gone back and figured out that the ghost of Litith was the one to have opened the door. Which begs the question, why didn’t he?

Either OT1 Barbatos does not possess the ability to manipulate reality or he had withheld information on purpose. 

Now that’s a scary thought. I mean why would they withhold information unless…. unless…

You were a danger.

I am in the belief that Barbatos of OT1 is on your side, he gives instructions on how to get back. Because you NEED to get back. There are consequences for messing with time, like…. getting stuck in a parallel reality. *wink wink*

On the other hand… if Barbatos of OT1 COULD manipulate reality then why bother with you unless… there was an extra variable at play.

What if Barbatos couldn’t see what happened. What if Mister OP Time Wizard suddenly encountered an anomaly with you? What if this entire situation was orchestrated by Diavolo in an effort to figure out why Lilith attaches herself to you?

But. The horror doesn’t end here folks.

I believe that OT3 Diavolo and Barbatos are lying in an effort to keep you here, in OT3. After all, Barbatos just yeeted the OT2 MC into smoke after all. And we have NO idea where the OT3 MC is. Honestly I have a very funny feeling that you, the OT1 mc, have powers of your own. Ones that are not related to Lilith.

Because Lilith is just lending her aid, you already have something there for her to boost.

You traveling back in time (Timeline hopping, fight me) May have been a test, a test to see if you had powers locked up inside you.

And I think that you do. I think that we are being played as a fool and that there is something much larger at play here.

Or - And please hear me out - I’m going stir crazy in this quarantine.

Hope you guys enjoyed 💚

A/N this took me about 2 hours? To write and bounce between apps. This is about 2.8k words. Maybe I’ll come back and elaborate more on this but it’s late and I’m tired lmao. Someone take the tin foil away from me-

#Obey Me #Obey Me Headcanon #Obey Me Theory #Obey Me Lucifer #Obey Me Leviathan #Obey Me Diavolo #Obey Me Barbatos #Obey Me Lilith #Obey Me Belphie #Obey Me Belphegor #Lmao I hope this makes sense

[shmreduplication]

single-day timeloops, which btw happen almost exclusively on someone’s ‘one of the worst days of their life’ or ‘should-have been one of the best days of their life’, are v good fantasies and hopeful in two ways that I just don’t see in other types of stories

just to expand on that a little bit, it’s like Santa Clarita Diet.  Lots of stories have a loving husband who would do anything for his wife, and yeah, that is a fantasy.  but a more extreme fantasy is a loving husband who would do anything for his wife, and “anything” includes staying with her even tho now she is undead and helping her murder people so she can feast on their fresh corpses. 

so back to timeloops, and spoilers for Russian Doll, Palm Springs, and Groundhog Day

 one of the things is that terrible previously-unimaginable events become kinda mundane faster than you’d expect them to.  Scrubs is the only medical show I’ve seen but I’m sure it’s a p common character growth arc that a doctor has to become numb to terrible events like death, and then cope with the fact that they are now numb to it.  Timeloops add that extra layer that the terrible-to-mundane transition is actually faster than you’d expect.  In Russian Doll, Alan goes from literally killing himself over the fact that his gf tells him she was cheating on him the day they were supposed to go on a trip together where he was planning to propose, to being happy that he can’t find the ring in like a really small amount of loops.  Even if he took the entire season to get over it, there are only 27 loops!  At a day apiece, that’s less than a month!

the other thing is that practice really does work.  Most things where a story is about a character’s job it is heavily implied if not stated in the text that the character has been doing it for their whole life and has some innate talent for it, which subtextually undermines any “they earned it!” ending.  In Whiplash he’s a drumming prodigy who is obsessed with being the best drummer to ever exist.  In The Office (US), Michael Scott is an insufferable boss, unless he’s trying to sell you paper in which case he is charming and convincing.   Phil Conners in groundhogs day goes from literally his first piano lesson ever to a jazz pianist.  In Palm Springs, Sarah goes from an alcoholic who lost her place as her parents’ favorite to being the world expert in quantum physics.  Practice really does fucking work!  even with an adult’s level of neuroplasticity and without innate talent!

#timeloop project

[aion-rsa]

Black Widow Timeline Explained

https://ift.tt/3yH3sEi

This article contains Black Widow spoilers. Read our spoiler-free review here.

Who is Natasha Romanoff? It’s a question Marvel Studios coyly teased for years and then… failed to answer as a full decade and the entire “Infinity Saga” passed us by. Yes, the long overdue Black Widow movie is finally reaching theaters this weekend, but Nat was killed off years ago in the sacred timeline of Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.

Nevertheless, we are happy that the character and Scarlett Johansson received some much deserved closure, and in a film which fills in many of the blindspots in the Black Widow mythos, not least of which includes what she got up to between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

With her narrative being seemingly closed for good, it’s time to unpack the oft-obscured life story of Natasha and consider whether she at last balanced out all that red in her ledger.

1984

The child who would become Natasha Romanoff is born in Stalingrad to a mother who is forced to give her over to the Soviet government. Despite the mother’s best efforts, she is unable to free Nat from the system. (Fury’s Big Week, Black Widow)

1992

After years of indoctrination and training in the Widow program, which is run out of Soviet Col. Dreykov’s Red Room, eight-year-old Natasha is selected alongside three-year-old Yelena to be part of KGB agents Alexi Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff’s cover story. The quartet of sleeper agents move to Ohio, posing as an all-American family while gathering American state secrets. (Black Widow)

1995

Alexi and Melina succeed in obtaining critical information and escape U.S. soil. Eleven-year-old Natasha and six-year-old Yelena, who’ve become increasingly Americanized and attached to the family identities they assumed, are traumatized. (Black Widow)

2002

Natasha completes her Widow training and graduates from the Red Room, which includes a “ceremony” where she is asked to execute a man bound to a chair. She is then sterilized on an operating table. Dreykov believes robbing “widows” of the chance to have children makes them more ruthless killers. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

2002 – 2007

Natasha is involved in multiple mysterious and apparently bloody Widow operations, which include incidents of murder in São Paulo and a separate “hospital fire” atrocity she is still haunted by. (The Avengers)

2007 – 2008

Clint Barton recruits Natasha into the West’s international SHIELD organization. Part of her defection comes at the price of assassinating Dreykov in Budapest. However, it is merely Dreykov’s young daughter Antonia who feels the fire of Nat’s explosives. (The Avengers, Black Widow)

2009

Natasha has her first run in with the Winter Soldier when she attempts to extract a defecting nuclear engineer out of Iran. A brainwashed Bucky Barnes steals her prize by running her car off a cliff in Ukraine and then shooting a bullet through Nat’s stomach and into her asset—killing him instantly. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Around this time, Natasha becomes an unofficial member of Clint Barton’s secret family, who live on an idyllic farmhouse. She’s known there as Auntie Nat. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

2010

Natasha infiltrates Stark Industries under the alias of Natalie Rushman, working as a legal assistant who moonlights as a model in order to catch Tony Stark’s lascivious eye. (Iron Man 2)

Natalie becomes Tony’s assistant but is actually spying on him for SHIELD, which has come to realize Tony’s arc reactor—which saved his life in Afghanistan—is now poisoning him. Nat eventually reveals she’s a SHIELD agent and helps prevent an assassination attempt on Stark’s life by rival forces. (Iron Man 2)

Read more

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The Black Widow Movie You Never Saw

By Don Kaye

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Florence Pugh’s Best Roles: What to Watch After Black Widow

By Kayti Burt

2012

Nat abandons her infiltration of the Russian underworld to recruit Bruce Banner to SHIELD after Loki arrives on Earth, brainwashing Clint Barton and planning world domination. She later successfully interrogates and manipulates the supposed God of Mischief. (The Avengers)

Natasha becomes one of the founding members of the Avengers after saving the world from an alien invasion alongside Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk in the Battle of New York. (The Avengers)

2014

Still working for SHIELD, Natasha infiltrates a pirate-commandeered SHIELD vessel to protect/steal precious SHIELD secrets while Captain America naively thinks they’re there to save hostages. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Black Widow goes rogue alongside Cap after an assassination attempt on her mentor, Col. Nick Fury. Fury of course survived and forms an underground operation with Nat and Rogers to root out HYDRA sleeper cells who’ve slowly taken over SHIELD leadership during the past 70 years. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

After saving the world from HYDRA’s latest attempt at world domination, Natasha publicly reprimands the American government at a baffling Capitol Hill hearing where she is being questioned by Pentagon brass. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

… MEANWHILE the Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton from circa 2023—nearly a decade older and sadder—time travel to 2014 in order to undo the damage Thanos caused when he snapped half of life in the universe out of existence with the Infinity Stones. They journey to the planet Vormir where they’re told one will have to die in order to obtain the Soul Stone. Black Widow and Hawkeye fight over who will have the right to sacrifice themselves for the other—Natasha wins and falls to her death, thus ending her tragic timeline in the past. (Avengers: Endgame)

2015

Black Widow becomes a full-time Avenger, joining the team as they dismantle the last HYDRA base in Sokovia. They regain Loki’s powerful scepter with an infinity stone inside. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Black Widow strikes up an intimate and unrequited connection with Bruce Banner. She is the only Avenger able to talk the Hulk down from his rages. The pair consider running off together, but their burgeoning romance is thwarted by the arrival of Ultron—an artificial intelligence that wants to… destroy the world. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Nat and the Avengers prevent Ultron from killing all organic life on Earth—which involved lifting Sokovia’s capital city into the sky and then dropping it like an asteroid—but in the carnage, Banner/Hulk chooses not to pursue a relationship with Nat, disappearing to parts unknown as she accepts her role as a leader of the growing Avengers roster. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

2016

Black Widow is part of an Avengers operation in Lagos, Nigeria, which goes horribly wrong when in an attempt to stop terrorist Brock Rumlow from stealing a biological weapon, an entire office floor of civilians is killed. (Captain America: Civil War)

Shortly after the Lagos incident, the Sokovia Accords are signed by the UN, requiring Avengers and other superpowered individuals to register themselves under the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council. Natasha at first accepts this as a reasonable path forward. She changes her mind when pro-Accords Avenger Tony Stark comes to blows with the resident skeptic, Steve Rogers, in Berlin. Romanoff helps Rogers escape and then also goes to ground. (Captain America: Civil War)

As a rogue agent, Natasha is invited back to Budapest and reunites with her faux-little sister Yelena, who reveals Dreykov is still alive and now is literally controlling the minds of the other young women he’s trained to be widows via mind-altering drugs. (Black Widow)

Nat and Yelena decide to track Dreykov down and kill him for real, and do so by freeing their “father” Alexi from Siberia and reconnecting with their “mother” Melina, who is still loyal to the Widow program. Melina nonetheless takes her girls to the Red Room, the hidden air fortress where they were trained as children. Yelena kills Dreykov and Natasha frees all the women under Dreykov’s control, including his daughter who did not actually die in Budapest. (Black Widow)

Natasha reconnects with Steve Rogers and helps him free Wanda Maximoff, Scott Lang, Sam Wilson, and Clint Barton from the government’s “the Raft” prison vessel. (Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow)

2018

As Thanos’ alien forces invade Earth, Rogers, Romanoff, and other renegade Avengers come out of hiding to save the universe. Natasha is reunited with Banner, and all of them converge in an epic battle against the armies of Thanos in Wakanda. (Avengers: Infinity War)

After the Avengers fail to stop Thanos from collecting all the Infinity Stones, Nat watches many of her friends turn to dust, along with half the living creatures in existence. (Avengers: Infinity War)

Black Widow and the Avengers track Thanos down to an uninhabited planet, only to discover he’s destroyed the Infinity Stones they planned to use to resurrect the universe. Thor decapitates Thanos in a pyrrhic attempt at revenge. (Avengers: Endgame)

2023

Natasha has become the top leader of the Avengers, organizing their superheroism throughout the cosmos via intergalactic Zoom sessions with Captain Marvel, Rocket, and others. Yet she and Rogers quietly cling to the hope of reversing Thanos’ victory. (Avengers: Endgame)

When Scott Lang returns from the Quantum Realm, revealing he’s inadvertently discovered time travel, Nat and Steve get the original Avengers lineup back together to travel into the past in order to steal the Infinity Stones. Return to the 2014 section to find out how that ended for Black Widow… (Avengers: Endgame)

2024

After Natasha traveled to her destiny in the past, Yelena visits her grave in Ohio… and is recruited for a new kind of team. (Black Widow)

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The post Black Widow Timeline Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3hU0sh4

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[raycatz]

Some thoughts on how the beetle works in Skyward Sword.

How does it get back to Sky, how is Sky able to see through it, what use could it be in LU when it comes to the dark portals, etc.

What if Sky's mechanical beetle works like the little scout from Outer Wilds?

Concept: There's a linked teleport/warp mechanic inside of the beetle and the launch bracelet. It works like dungeon warps from games like TMC or LA but on a smaller scale (and only in one direction. It would be pretty broken/disastrous if Sky was warped to the beetle's location instead of the other way around.) Once the beetle hits the edge of its radius or runs out of energy the warp activates and the beetle is instantly returned to the bracelet.

In SS the beetle can return with things like rupees, hearts, and materials. (Though, the beetle won't return with bombs. Is this a choice Link makes or can the beetle not teleport bombs? Is there a size limit?) Could little Four or fairy Hyrule be sent out on the beetle for reconnaissance and then be insta-teleported back?

Perhaps the beetle could be considered a magic-tech item like the ST Spirit Train or the BotW Sheikah tech. The beetle probably works in one of two ways: 1) Sky can see the beetle from where he is and controls its movements with a controller built into the launch bracelet (tech), or 2) Sky can see through the beetle’s eyes if he chooses to and controls its movement in a way similar to the command melody from WW (magic-tech.) I like to think it’s the later because there are definitely places in Skyview Temple where the beetle goes that Sky can't see on his own. In LU, could Sky send the beetle through dark portals ahead of the chain to scout out the new area or would the connection be severed? If we’re already saying the beetle works like the little scout from Outer Wilds, then I propose that using logic from the game, the beetle would be able to see up and down the timeline but not across. Trying to see into another timeline, say the downfall timeline from the adult timeline, simply wouldn’t work. The beetle would just feed back static. However, this would make traveling to and from the unified timeline easier as they can see down any path from it or back up to where they originated from.

-----

Outer Wilds spoilers for why: In Outer Wilds there’s a bunch of cool core game mechanics that you need to understand to solve the game. One of them being something called the rules of quantum behavior. Quantum objects exist in every possible instance at all times, but you can hold it to a singular instance as long as it’s being observed. It will stay in one instance if you’re looking at it. If you look away from the object it will move. You’ll have to look around if you want to find it again. These objects can be anything from a small rock, to a tree, to an entire planet. Looking at LU, what’s to say a quantum object couldn’t be an entire timeline? The chain would currently be on one instance, making it possible to see up and down the timeline but not across. Trying to see into another instance, say the downfall timeline from the adult timeline, simply wouldn’t work. The beetle would just feed back static. (One instance is already being observed, the one the chain is on/the one the dark portal led to, so the timeline exists there. Traveling between portals is the time where the object isn’t being observed and therefore moves to a different instance and changes states. However, the timeline in its many states still exists everywhere at once (time still flows, mail is still delivered,) we’re simply tied to the eyes of the observers being the chain (or whoever travels through the dark portal.) The chain cannot see outside of the instance they are already in.) However, this would make traveling to and from the unified timeline easier as the beetle, when sent though the dark portal, can see down any branching path or back up to where the timeline originated from.

#rays random ramblings #linked universe #skyward sword

[charmedseoull]

Interview with sugamins about her work House of Cards (Ao3′s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work)

Before You Read the Interview

Archive of Our Own Transcript

Reddit Transcript Part 1 / Part 2

House of Cards is documented within the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Works on Archive of Our Own Project, otherwise known as T50BTS, by Charmedseoul. It is the second most hit English work on the Archive of Our Own platform, most hit BTS work, and 16th most hit work overall. It centers around the internationally popular K-Pop idol group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) with the main characters being Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook. This work is being documented for historical purposes for the Fanlore website with its own page. Charmedseoul is a BTS-focused anonymous historian who plans to eventually document each of the top 50 most hit BTS work on Ao3 as in depth as this one. If you are in contact with any of the authors of these works, please contact her on Twitter @charmedseoul or on Tumblr @charmedseoull.

Parts of this interview have been edited with links to Fanlore and Wikipedia pages for understanding. Any information in [brackets] serves for further clarity for readers and elaboration of information.

Disclaimers: This interview contains spoilers for the BTS Archive of Our Own work House of Cards. The story’s Archive of Our Own tags contain violence and gangster activity, along with discussion of prostitution and drug use. The full tag list is:

Alternate Universe - Gangsters

Gang Violence

Violence

Drugs

Drug Use

Explicit Sexual Content

Explicit Language

Blood and Gore

Blood and Torture

Gambling

Gunplay

Undercover

Disturbing Themes

Homophobic Language

Attempted Rape/Non-Con

Xenophobia

Dom/sub

Threesome - M/M/M

Drug Addiction

Dubious Consent

This interview discusses an 18+ mature work and Not Safe for Work topics. Please read this interview at your own discretion. You are responsible for the content you consume.

House of Cards by sugamins is a multi-chapter Archive of Our Own fanfiction that follows police officer Kim Taehyung’s undercover operation into the gangster world of Haedogje Pa. Jeon Jungkook, shrouded in an air of mystery and dubbed “The Boy,” is the heir to this crime empire. Park Jimin lives with him, acting as a lover of sorts in a high, pristine penthouse apartment. The story follows the three and their complicated relationship where sex, violence, and drugs surround them. Kim Taehyung tries to take down the empire as his moral lines of black and white begin blurring into gray. In this crime-ridden alternate reality to Seoul, everything from the structure of the gangster world to the trust between three lovers is as fragile as a house of cards.

Now presenting the interview with sugamins, author of Archive of Our Own’s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work, House of Cards:

How did you start writing?

How did you get into fanfiction?

How much writing experience did you have prior to House of Cards?

Do you have any literary or artistic inspirations? Any other authors or works that have inspired you to create anytime before or after House of Cards?

How did you become an ARMY [ARMY stands for Adorable Representative MC for the Youth. It is the fandom name for fans of BTS, otherwise known as Bangtan Sonyeondan]?

I started writing fanfiction in 2012. But before then, I used to enjoy writing stories as a child and young teenager. I used to write and illustrate my own stories. I even had a sketchbook filled with my own comic book, which was terrible! But I've always been creative. It started with art and then I moved onto writing when I discovered I was able to be much more creative with my words rather than my pencil.

I first got into fanfiction through my years spent on Tumblr. I had always known that it had existed, but I had never really gone looking for it because I hadn't belonged to a fandom at that point in my life. It was back in 2012 when I stumbled upon an EXO fanfic that a lot of people were talking about (Arbitrage, you can find it on Livejournal.) I read it and then thought...wow, so this is fanfiction! From that point, I started reading more and more, mostly Infinite fanfiction. And then I decided to start writing with the encouragement of an old online friend, and here I am!

In terms of writing experience, I have never formally received education. I stopped studying English Language and Literature when I was 16, instead focusing on Art, History, and Religious Education (purely because I wanted to learn about philosophy and quantum mechanics) for my final two years at high-school. The only experience I have is through writing fanfiction. I started back in 2012, and I've developed a lot since then. I started off small, writing horror short stories and little collections. Brotherhood was the first 'long fic' I created. I was shocked that it managed to get so big because I had never created a story of that size before. Writing helped me gain experience and figure out what worked and what didn't work, what I was good at writing, and where I was lacking and needed to learn. I don't think you can really experience an art form until you start doing it. You can learn all about the techniques and the conventions, but until you pick up a pen and start writing or drawing, you won't ever know what it means to create.

My literary inspiration has always been Stephen King. Which is funny, as he has described himself as 'having diarrhea of the typewriter.' I think that applies to me sometimes. I am a bit of a wordy writer, though I've started honing it down for certain stories. Sometimes, a story needs to be floral and descriptive, sometimes, it needs to be punchy and direct. So, King was my major inspiration, especially with horror. I also enjoy the works of Poe and Lovecraft (I acknowledge the problematic themes in the work of Lovercraft and seek not to praise him as a person. He was a terrible person for sure, but sadly, he had a way with cosmic horror that is hard to find.) I also enjoy Chuck Palahniuk and the dark, seedy and overall zany stories that he has created. I like his style a lot!

In terms of inspirations for House of Cards, I was obviously inspired by the films Infernal Affairs/The Departed. American Gangster and Training Day were also major inspirations (and also because I love Denzel Washington's performances in both films. I mean, who doesn't love him?) But I also drew inspiration from other sources that were less focused on gangs, more focused on the dark, nihilistic state of the world around us. I couldn't recommend the TV series True Detective hard enough. It is one of the best series I have ever watched. It handles dark and disturbing content so well, and its fractured, unreliable story-telling and philosophical musing is some of the best I've ever seen on screen. I highly recommend checking it out, but be sure to check the content warning and triggers because it certainly isn't suitable for younger audiences and those with triggers. In terms of real-life content, I think Ross Kemps' docu-series are very good. Particularly Extreme World and On Gangs. His docu-series show the dark and disturbing side of criminal activity, the drug trade and more. 

I became a fan of BTS [Bangtan Sonyeondan] back in 2013. I had already been a fan of K-Pop for some time by then, as I had started listening to various K-Pop and K-Rock artists back in 2009. I knew of their debut, but I had seen hundreds of new acts debut by the time that they broke into the scene, and so I didn't pay much heed. Someone I followed on Tumblr at the time kept posting about how much she loved them, especially Taehyung [BTS V/Kim Taehyung]. One day, I stumbled upon a gifset of Yoongi [BTS Suga/Min Yoongi] being sarcastic in one of their first interviews. I thought he was funny, so I decided to check them out. At the time, they had recently released We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 [BTS’s second music video release with their debut album 2 Kool 4 Skool]. I followed them from that point, and their first comeback [A “comeback” refers to when a K-Pop idol group releases new music, usually done twice a year.] was also my first comeback. I liked their music [BTS released Boy In Luv and Just One Day in 2014, both music videos of songs from their Skool Luv Affair EP.], but I liked them even more as individuals. I loved watching their shows [Here is a link to BTS’s schedule during 2014 when they had their first comeback. You can find the shows and interviews they were on there.], even though they are incredibly embarrassing to look back on now. They just had so much energy and looked to be having so much fun that I was having fun just watching them. I was a fan, I liked a lot of their songs and followed their activities. But it wasn't until they released HYYH Part One [Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa Part 1 (Korean) = The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1 (This is the title in English), released with the I Need U and Dope music videos.] that I really became a fan of their music. I had already created a couple of small horror stories for the fandom at that point. HYYH Part One [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1] inspired me so much that I created Brotherhood, my first 'long fic.' I joined AO3 [Archive of Our Own] and started posting there. I received so much support from fellow fans that I carried on writing, and the rest is history!

How has your experience being an ARMY [Adorable Representative MCs of the Youth, BTS’s global fan base name.] been? Did you ever leave the fandom then come back? How did you interact with others when you first got into the fandom and as you grew up?

How have you been since you wrote House of Cards? What have you been working on? 

Are you okay with talking about how old you are now and how old you were when you wrote House of Cards?

Before you even wrote House of Cards, what inspired it? Any TV shows? Music? Movies? Books? Ideas? It could be anything.

How did you start writing House of Cards? Did you finish the entire story then publish it or did you write it as you went? What was the writing process like?

Did you have any beta readers or editors? If you did, are you still in contact with them now? How did they feel about your work?

My experience being a fan has mostly been positive over the years. In the earlier days, back around when I first started writing for the fandom, it was certainly much more positive. I've received so much support over the years, not only in my writing but in my personal life from readers and fellow fans that being a fan of the boys [The members of BTS] really has changed my life. That's not an exaggeration. I doubt I would even be here now without those years having such a positive effect on my mental health. I've never really been the kind to interact with others and form cliques within the fandom, I just like being in my own space and interacting with everyone that comes my way, I guess?

These days, I'm not as active as a writer or in fandom spaces however. I feel like my time in the fandom has started to come up and I don't know how I feel about it just yet. I feel nostalgic for the time when I was first starting out in the fandom and I didn't really know much, but everything was fun. It doesn't feel so fun now, but I mostly contribute that to the effect that Twitter has had on shaping the fandom's growth. Twitter has never been a good place for creatives within fandoms because of issues with algorithms and such. Tumblr was always the better website for hosting artistic content for a variety of reasons. So, I think the fact that everything is on Twitter now has been partly responsible for my decline in engagement and overall enjoyment. I'm currently taking a break from Twitter. The next couple of months will be what makes me either stay or leave the fandom.

Since writing House of Cards, I've been an active writer in the fandom. Over the years, I've added quite a lot of stories to my AO3 accounts and various pseuds. My largest ongoing story is another gang story, set in the 1980s, called Valentino Summers. I actually started writing and publishing it on Ao3 just four or so months after I finished House of Cards—which is wild to think about. Finally finishing House of Cards seems like such a long time ago in my mind, and yet I'm still working on a story I created that same year! I like contributing horror stories to the fandom, especially in the Halloween period. I like publishing series in the month/upcoming weeks before Halloween—though I won't be doing so this year [2020].

When I started writing House of Cards, I would have just turned 22. It was inspired by the song 'Wires' by The Neighbourhood. I might be mistaken, but I believe that Jungkook [BTS Jungkook/Jeon Jungkook] posted a tweet with the song in it. [Jungkook did tweet about this song. Here is the English translation.] I had never heard of the band before, but my partner was a fan of their music. She sent the song to me and I was very interested in the lyrics, so I started discussing them with her. One thing led to the next, and then we had basically come up with the entire plot of the story. We just needed to create the characters. We spent a little while doing so, and then I started doing some research and started writing the story. There really isn't a grand backstory to House of Cards, it just happened so fast. We often come up with story ideas like that, and my partner is responsible for a huge amount of my stories. She has the creative visions, which I then turn into words. We make quite the team, haha~ The inspirations, I mentioned those in my previous answer regarding films and TV shows.

I published the story as I went, though I staggered the updates because I didn't want to post too frequently. I had the entire story planned out from the start——I didn't change a single aspect of the story no matter what I received in terms of feedback. I think a lot of readers assume that writers might tweak things if they sense the audience wants something to happen in terms of plot or relationships. Personally, I don't like doing that. I like sticking to my plans even if I know my vision might not be what the readers want. I think it's important for the story to be created the way I see it because my vision is what made me create it, if that makes sense.

The writing process was surprisingly smooth! You might not think it because the story is big and there are a lot of characters and plot threads to keep on top of, but it went smoothly for me. It flowed just as smoothly from start to finish as Brotherhood did. I never struggled once with writing the chapters, nor did I ever get stuck and wonder if I should change the content in order to make it easier to write. I'm surprised that I managed to complete it so easily because that's not the case with writing now! I tend to be a lot slower now, more deliberate and more open to changes in order to ease the process and the overall flow of the story. In a way, this change has been for the best. I do wonder what House of Cards would be like if I were to write it now, with my different approach to planning and writing. It would probably have a quicker flow, and the word count would either go down as a result of cuts, or go up because of additional scenes I would have likely included.

I didn't have any betas, which you can probably tell from the work. My stories are so big that I never wanted to put the burden of fixing them onto someone else. I know they are imperfect, oftentimes bloated things, but that's just what they are. I did try creating a story with another writer in the past, but it didn't go very well. She would often have conflicting opinions on things and would not have any leeway for anything I suggested, whereas I always had leeway to allow her to change things. Even to the point of completely changing the plot of the story that I had already started writing, and then allowing her to add graphic sexual content she didn't even want to be in the story. She actually stopped writing fanfiction randomly in the middle of us creating the story! She made a post about it being disgusting and nasty and then bowed out. I have no clue if she ever came back! So, my negative experience with attempting to work with someone else when creating a story kind of made me not want to have a beta. It's a wild story, I know!

House of Cards is praised for its realism and accuracy with weaponry, torture, sex, and violence. How did you research these things?

How did you come up with the gangster universe in House of Cards? How did you develop Haedogje Pa?

How did you name the original characters in House of Cards? Did any characters in particular take inspiration from existing characters in TV shows, anime, books, any type of media?

How did you decide on Vminkook as your main characters for the story? What do you see in their dynamic and them as characters?

Jimin is claimed to be one of the best written characters in the entire story. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Taehyung is an especially dynamic character whose morals get tested time and time again in House of Cards. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Jungkook is one of the characters that the readers spend the least amount of time getting a perspective from, but is incredibly well written in his character progression. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

When it came to various aspects in the story, I did do research. Most of it never really had an impact on the story itself. For example, I would be looking up gun models that are used by law enforcement agencies around the world and trying to find specs of them so I could learn how many bullets each gun held, or how much a magazine could hold. In action scenes, I didn't want my characters firing off 20+ bullets for a gun that—in reality—holds far less. That's a fact that doesn't really mean much to the average reader, but it meant something to me! I've always hated how many bullets fly through the air in action scenes in films and TV shows because I'm always wondering if it's possible with the firearms featured in the scene haha~ In terms of torture, I've come across the subject through various documentaries and TV shows about gangs, crime and serial killers. I didn't really do much additional research into the topic, beyond reading up on what I had come across to make sure it wasn't fictionalised for drama purposes. Obviously, there will be some lack of realism in my story because I couldn't possibly write a realistic portrayal of gang violence and torture when I have zero personal experience with it. My aim wasn't to give the story 'full' realism (I'll explain more about that in the next question) but to simply create a world that felt real, even if there were little aspects that had to be exaggerated for the sake of the story. Taehyung's behaviour when undercover certainly broke many procedures. The only thing working in his favour that allowed him to get away with it is that the crimes he committed couldn't be directly traced to him. But a real undercover agent would never do the things that he did on behalf of the gang. Basically, this means that the entire story is unrealistic! But of course, it wouldn't be very entertaining if Taehyung simply observed from the background and didn't dirty his hands. So, I had to bend and break the rules a little!

For the universe, I knew that I couldn't base it too much in reality. Because of basic Korean law, it would have been impossible for me to write the gang operating in the way they did in the story—especially with guns. Most Korean gangs tend to use other forms of violence and weapons in order to control their respective areas, rather than guns. My other story, Taste of Ink, has what I would consider a more realistic approach to gang activity—with the main weapons being knives, baseball bats, etc. and the main forms of violence being assault instead of flat-out murder. So, for the sake of allowing guns to appear in the story, I had to create a Neo-Seoul, so to speak. I took inspiration from Korean gangs, and mixed it with influences from other gang cultures in order to create 'Haedogje Pa.'

When it comes to naming original characters, I honestly don't put much thought into it. I like to use real names for inspiration. I often Google various Korean films I've watched and read the cast list in order to find interesting character and actor names. This is because I have a habit of reusing names sometimes. For example, readers of my stories might have come across a couple of Daesu and Goohee characters. Do you know where I got these names from? I picked Daesu from Oh Daesu - Choi Minsik's character in Oldboy. Goohee comes from the manhwa 'Let Dai' - he is the stubborn gang leader that actually has a good heart beneath his rough exterior. I ended up liking him the most by the end of the story, so his name is one that often comes to mind when I need to pick an original character name.

I never really consider real life dynamics when I'm writing because my stories are so detached from reality that it seems pointless including any inspiration from reality. I chose the three main characters simply because, at the time, they seemed to fit the character moulds the best. The other characters fit their respective characters so well (especially Namjoon [BTS RM/Kim Namjoon] and Yoongi) that I simply thought it was best to have Taehyung, Jimin [BTS Jimin/Park Jimin] and Jungkook as the three lead roles. I chose them more based on how I thought they could personally fit the characters, rather than focus on the dynamic. To use Taehyung as an example, I thought that he would fit the character of the informant in my story because in reality, he is intelligent and seemed like he would suit the role. For Jimin, I thought he would be a good choice for a character that some might think is vulnerable or even weak. He is actually very strong and the most important character for the plot progression. For Jungkook, I liked the thought of someone with such an innocent outer appearance hiding a dark secret.

I'm so glad that readers took to Jimin so positively on a whole. I know there are some that hated him, or that hated the fact I chose him for such a role (a 'negative' sex worker role). But Jimin is the most important character for the plot progression. It is through him that the entire plan finally culminates in the explosive finish. I wanted to treat him with care because I understood that his character could go very wrong if not handled correctly. It would have been easy for him to simply become nothing more than a sexual prop, should the story have focused too much on Taehyung and Jungkook as the key players. So, I decided to subvert it by giving Jimin the ultimate hand in the story and allowing him to have more control than Jungkook in the end. If Jimin had not decided to follow through with the plan, if he had decided to snitch or had simply refused to do his part in exposing the gang, the story would've ended drastically differently. But I also didn't want to write Jimin taking control of the entire situation at the end because it would've felt ingenuine. He is a character that has been deeply affected by a lifetime of trauma. I was worried that some might take my portrayal of his trauma the wrong way, and see him not as a character that has suffered immense mental damage but rather as an annoying, weak character that gets in the way of more 'interesting' dynamics. I'm sure there will be readers that think that. Mentally traumatized individuals are often seen in such negative light, be they fictional characters or real people. When writing his character, especially in the later scenes, I wanted to make sure the trauma he experienced would shape his behaviour. Writing the scene of him getting ready to leave, when he is taking his pills and he doesn't think he can do it, it was hard. It was hard getting into that headspace of feeling so powerless in the moment and knowing that freedom is in reach, but not knowing how to achieve it. He was a difficult character to write, but I think he turned out just right in the end.

Taehyung was probably the best character to write. I love characters that start off so morally upright and pristine, and by the end of the story, their backs are bending and close to breaking from the weight of their conscience and misdeeds. His character has many facets to him that made his perspectives so interesting to tackle. From his green days in the gang, where he is horrified by the violence he sees, to the changes in his psyche as he starts to become desensitized to it all. Fundamentally, Taehyung begins the story as a good man, a hero, but by the end, there is no black and white thinking. He has become grey, muddied from his time spent in the gang. Is he a hero for bringing them down? Would a hero do the things that he did in order to bring down the gang? He killed people. He tortured people. He threatened a man with a gun, a man he knew had a deepset fear of guns that would severely trigger him. I think it all depends on how the reader sees it. The hardest thing to write for his character was his troubled descent into the relationship between him, Jungkook and Jimin, and how it affects his thought processes and emotions. I didn't want House of Cards to be seen as a romantic story when I created it. If readers see it that way, they are more than entitled to their own interpretations. I cannot tell them how they can interpret my art, that is not my role as the creator. I don't know if I effectively portrayed the co-dependency between the three main characters as well as I would've liked. But I had never tackled such a story and themes before, and so it was all new to me.

I didn't know that Jungkook had the least perspective from the three main characters. Similarly, I never really put that much effort into creating and developing his character! Jungkook simply 'happened' in the moment. He would appear in the chapter, and then his character would basically take control of the scene. I never really knew what he was going to say or do beyond my rough plans for each scene. I just waited until he appeared and let the creative spirit flow through me. That's how he came to be! I've had that happen many times in the past with characters—they have a life of their own and I've no control over them. In my story, Brotherhood, Taehyung happened the same way. It was impossible to write his character in that story because he was so wild and free-spirited that it didn't feel right unless his behaviour was a total spur-of-the-moment reaction to the other characters and new plot points. But with Jungkook in House of Cards, I don't know why I didn't have him planned out like the others. It's interesting to think that he might've had a good progression when I never planned any of it in detail!

Were there any original characters you particularly liked writing or enjoyed?

When you wrote for the BTS hyung line, how did you determine their roles in the story and characterize each of them?

Is there a reason behind Namjoon saying “brother” or was it a consciously written character quirk?

When you handled more serious subject matter in House of Cards, how did you feel when writing it? Were you ever startled by your own work?

Was there any type of purposeful titling for the fanfiction chapters?

What was your reason for House of Cards’ open ending?

I liked writing Lim, the original informant that helped Taehyung join the gang. I like writing characters that come across as sleazy. In his case, the sleaze was all an act and wasn't true to his character; he was affecting it for the sake of creating a persona. But I enjoy writing absolute sleaze balls too—the kind of guys that have chest hair and wear gold chains and thick watches, who practically ooze oil. I just find them fun! Lim was a good teacher, even when he was rough around the edges. It was sad doing what I had to do to him for the sake of the plot. But I feel like Lim understood the game as well as everyone else, and so he knew he was running on borrowed time. 

Of course, I loved writing Bae Goohee too! He was an absolute bastard! I loved writing this figure that is spoken about throughout the story as a frightening man, one so brutal that the readers are already wary of him before he even appears in the story. I believe that Taehyung refers to him as a 'guard dog' at some point. I think Bae is the scariest character in the story for me because he is so ruthless and willing to do any order that the Jeon clan give to him. That kind of blind and unwavering devotion is frightening!

I also enjoyed writing Sungah and Jangmi. I think they're the only female characters in the story that have dialogue? Sungah has a great backstory that I unfortunately couldn't go into too much in the story, but it shaped her character a lot. I like how frank and intelligent she is—she holds her own even in a department filled with men that receive far more praise than she does simply because she is a woman. She also allowed me to add an angle about the unfair treatment of women in jobs that have power, drawing parallels with how Taehyung faces discrimination from his fellow officers when his sexuality is abruptly revealed during the investigation. As for Jangmi, I just liked writing about the wife of a mob boss! And not one that is simply a trophy wife, but actually has a lot of power and influence across the city. I wish I had been able to feature her more, alongside her husband, Jeon himself. But I like the scenes they appear in and I enjoyed writing them.

For the rest of the members, I had Namjoon and Hoseok [BTS J-Hope/Jung Hoseok]'s characters planned right from the start. I had also created plans for Yoongi and Seokjin [BTS Jin/Kim Seokjin], but I wasn't sure how much of a role they would play in the overall story. As I started writing them, I realised that Yoongi would play an important role in both Taehyung and Jimin's character development, and so he ended up featuring a lot more than I had expected. I planned their jobs and then let them influence how I would write them. Namjoon and Hoseok's characters came naturally. Yoongi's character completely took over his job role and basic description and became a really strong character that I'm proud of. Seokjin was a little trickier because he doesn't appear in too many scenes—but the scenes he does are integral to the plot. I needed to make sure that his character said everything he needed to in his limited scenes. He has quite the bombshell to drop after all! Seokjin was also tricky because I wanted him to have an air of mystery around him. I wanted him to be the kind of guy that not even Taehyung and his police connections would be able to unearth much about; a ghost in the system. I would've also liked for him to feature more in the story, but I feel like his character appeared in the essential scenes that the story needed. He was going to feature more in the planned sequel, being one of the first characters to appear alongside Yoongi. He was going to serve an important role, so I'm disappointed that I didn't get to show those scenes to readers.

With Namjoon, I wanted to portray him as a mature character, but not one that was conservative and stiff. I thought about having him say things like 'man' but that seemed too casual and didn't suit his character. 'Man' made him seem more like a surfer than a police officer. But when he said 'brother' in one of the scenes, I realised the word suited him better. It was fraternal, and it allowed him to show some affection towards the other characters without having to have physical contact with them. It's not the only Namjoon I've written that says 'brother' a lot. In Valentino Summers, Namjoon has experience with hippies in the neighbourhood that he lives in, so he also refers to other characters like Jimin as 'brother.' It just seems to suit him! I guess it's because I like creating Namjoon characters that are intelligent and mature, but still have a gentle and warm presence. I could picture him saying it in real life (I'm certain he already has!)

When writing serious subject matter, I'm surprised to admit that I was never shocked by what I was writing! I guess it's because I already knew that I was going to be handling dark themes. I wouldn't have tackled such subjects had I not felt comfortable doing so. Dark content isn't for everyone, and by that I don't simply mean consuming it. Creating it can be very difficult for some writers, and can even cause distress. It's not easy diving into a world that is filled with crime, pain and fear. It's even harder putting yourself into the shoes of a character that is suffering/has suffered. I was never writing in a desensitised state though. Far from it. I'm actually very sensitive to violence in reality. In fiction, it depends on the violence—but I'm usually not too affected by it. I've been a fan of horror since I was a child, and so I've seen a lot of nasty films filled with gore and 'shocking' deaths that never really had much of an effect on me. Unrealistic violence doesn't scare me. But when it comes to personal violence, that is always frightening to me. It's far scarier writing a scene where a character feels threatened by another character and doesn't know what is going to happen to them then, say, writing a scene of a character dying a bloody, ridiculous death in a horror story. Personal violence is much more realistic, therefore it is more unsettling to write. In House of Cards, the violence is very personal. It's in your face, it's inescapable for the characters that are involved in it. But at no point did I ever feel like I needed to stop writing because I was uncomfortable or scared by the content. If I had been uncomfortable, it would have been very reckless of me to continue writing the story.

My word of advice to fellow dark content writers: it's always important to recognise your own boundaries. There's nothing wrong with removing dark content from a story if you get a bad vibe or feel strange when writing/reviewing it. Always follow your gut instincts and never put out work that you don't like.

When writing stories, I vary between titling the chapters and leaving them blank. For House of Cards, I cannot remember the exact method for naming the chapters. Sometimes, the title comes to me when I am writing the plans and I have an idea that just suits the mood of the chapter. Other times, I have finished the entire chapter and I have to spend some time reviewing the content to decide that the title will be. In some cases, I have finished most of a whole story and I'm still not certain what to title it! I feel like with House of Cards, the titles came after the chapters were finished, or at least when they were works-in-progress.

There are some titles that really stand out to me. 'Nice Teeth' for example, is a really ridiculous title. Going into the chapter, I don't think many readers would've imagined what it could mean. 'Submachine Sodomy' is even funnier. I really can't believe I chose that as a title! I'll bet a lot of readers saw it and thought, "Oh no! Not another gunplay scene!" Luckily for them, it wasn't a reference to Jungkook's predilection for firearms in bed.

In terms of chapter titles that I really like: 'Delusions of Grandeur,' 'I Own This Fucking City,' 'Sleeping Dogs Bite' and 'Carpe-fucking-Diem.' I just feel like these titles are very well suited to the contents of the chapters. They are the kind of titles that have bite to them, that hint at action or an important plot point.

As for the open ending, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, I had planned to continue the story in a sequel that would pick up after the events of House of Cards, roughly a year on after the investigation. However, I did not pursue this sequel. I wanted House of Cards to end on an open note for the sequel to continue the story. When it comes to certain stories, I just feel that closed endings aren't always necessary. I often enjoy stories with open endings. With House of Cards, it didn't seem right just closing the book and saying it was over. There was still so much that needed to be explored. Unfortunately, I decided to not continue it. But I still think that House of Cards' ending fits the story.

Were there any scenes or moments or lines in House of Cards that you were particularly proud of or want to highlight?

If you were to write the Yoomin sequel to House of Cards, how would’ve that looked like?

How were readers’ reactions to your work in the beginning?

Did any reader comments stick with you in particular?

How did you take the criticisms and hatred towards House of Cards for its serious subject matter? When did those types of comments start appearing? Also, where did the hatred come from? Twitter? Tumblr? Ao3 comments? Did people harass you at all or hurt you? How did you heal from that?

House of Cards has a lot of scenes. I'm proud of most of them and I think I did the best I could when writing them. I do not really like the sex scenes, but that is because I wanted to write them in a dirty, sleazy way. If I could, I would change them. I like the action scenes, especially the Gold Monkey Casino and police raid scenes. Action scenes are hard to write! Fight scenes in particular are so tricky. I often sit there, choreographing the fights so I can describe them! I loved writing Yoongi's introduction to the story, when he walks into the scene wearing nothing but his underpants.

One scene that I really liked writing is the scene where Namjoon and Hoseok investigate the USB stick that Taehyung sends to them. I personally love Namjoon and Hoseok's characters. I always enjoyed writing them. In this scene, I liked getting to write them in a setting that was not the police department office. A scene where they got to relax and banter with each other, even though they were still working. They discover a horrifying crime ring in the city, but they are left with no choice but to keep it secret because they do not want to risk blowing Taehyung's cover. I do not know why I really like this scene, I just do.

In the sequel, which focused primarily on Jimin and Yoongi, the plans were to have them reunite through Seokjin—who has avoided jail time through a plea deal with the SMPA. They undergo a healing process together as they try to come to terms with what happened to them. Yoongi has a lot of unhealed trauma from his childhood, much like Jimin, which I only got to briefly touch upon in House of Cards. They grow closer from bonding over their traumatic experiences, and they become happier and healthier as a result. Taehyung and Seokjin were also going to be main characters, with Jungkook, Namjoon and Hoseok making supporting appearances over the duration of the story. It was going to be drastically different from House of Cards because it would be lacking in action and violence. It would have been much more intimate, with much more scenes of characters talking and discovering things about one another.

I cannot remember early reactions to the story, I just know they were positive. There was a lot of positive support from the start. As I updated and started to get more and more into the story, I received a lot of support on tumblr too. I started posting chapter previews there, as I used to get asks [On Tumblr, users are able to ask bloggers questions through an “Ask” function. This can be done anonymously or with their own blog username associated with the question.] requesting them. I got A LOT of asks on my original Tumblr from readers that wanted to discuss the characters and certain scenes. It was really interesting seeing just how much the readers were interested in the story, so much so that they wanted to learn even more about the characters and the universe I had created.

Through House of Cards, I have received comments and messages from readers that had addictions. They told me about how they recognised their own behaviors through Taehyung, and this helped them realise what was happening to them. Those comments stuck with me for obvious reasons. I have family members with addiction issues, and knowing that I could help some stranger I have never met before come to terms with their own addictive behaviours had a massive impact on me. Funnily enough, a negative comment stuck with me. It was not a bad comment, by no means meant to cause offence. It was a comment that was left on the story when I was posting the early chapters. I recall the reader asking when the story was going to pick up the pace because it was too slow. It stuck with me because, at this point in the story, Taehyung had already trained to become an undercover agent, had enrolled in the gang, had met and interacted with Jungkook, and had murdered a man. I was surprised that this amount of development had been seen as 'slow' by a reader, as I had thought the plot had been moving very fast.

I never really had any hate posted on the story when I was updating it. I got angry reactions when I had finished it. Because the story had not ended the way some readers had wanted, I think that was what caused the negative reactions. On my original Tumblr, I even got an ask about how an anon reader was going to write their own ending because my one was bad. I told them that I did not want them to take my story and change it like that. I have no idea if they ever posted the ending anywhere. The angry reactions were mostly from shippers, who were upset with the story not ending the way they had wanted. To them, I ask: what were you expecting from the story? I thought it was always obvious that Taehyung was going to do what he had set out to do from the start, so I do not think I misled readers at all. It was a story about an undercover agent taking down a gang—and that is what I wrote.

I know there was some animosity towards me on Twitter too. Twitter is a whirlpool of negativity, I am not surprised. Writing House of Cards made me appear problematic. My partner used to follow an author a long time back, who tweeted about me being problematic—despite having never interacted with me or admittedly read my stories. It was shocking to me that people were making assumptions of who I was as a person based on a story I created. I have never created stories with the aims of hurting or upsetting others. I am a very quiet and private person, and I hate the idea of hurting others. It was strange to me that people could assume me to be this cruel or even dangerous individual, intent on hurting others, because I created a fictional story. Do they think the same of script writers for television shows? Or film directors, who create films with dark subject matter? Do they think published authors are problematic people for writing dark and disturbing content? Do they think certain genres should not exist because they do not personally like them?

I do think it is strange that fan fiction writers are placed on these ridiculously high pedestals of moral absolutism. Fan fiction was created to be a space for creative outlet for marginalised individuals, particularly queer individuals. The heavy censorship of dark and unusual content is putting this entire ethos at danger. I understand not wanting to have certain topics included in stories because there is a risk that the content can be used for grooming or can be presented in a way that can negatively affect young consumers' perceptions (like pedophilia for example.) I certainly agree that there needs to be boundaries in place to stop the community from being flooded with such illegal content. But I think there is a difference between wanting to remove dangerous content, and wanting to get rid of content you do not like. Content can be problematic to you, but that does not make it dangerous, illegal, or bad. For some readers, the content they create is their way of dealing with trauma. Maybe this is not healthy for them. But that is their decision to make, not yours.

I orphaned the story because I did not want to handle the potential backlash. To put it simply, I do not handle negative criticism well. Not because I am stuck-up and think I am perfect, but because I am a very anxious person. Just reading angry comments makes me feel very uncomfortable, often nauseous. I know that House of Cards has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from readers, and for that I am thankful. But I had to distance myself for the sake of my own mental health. Since orphaning it, it exploded in popularity. I am thankful that I orphaned it because that amount of attention would frighten me a lot, haha~

What was your reaction to the fanfiction trailer by Sappiamur?

How did you come to the decision to reveal your real name in the end note of House of Cards?

How did you feel when you finished House of Cards?

How did you come to the decision to orphan House of Cards?

Did you ever anticipate the overwhelming fan reaction to House of Cards?

How do you feel knowing that House of Cards is one of the most read fanfictions on Ao3?

What do you want House of Cards to be remembered for?

What do you hope people take away from House of Cards?

Why do you think House of Cards became so popular?

I had to go back and watch it. It's been some time since I last have, and I'm still as amazed by it now as I was back then. The trailer is insane. I cannot imagine how much work went into making it. It's so good and it fits the vibes of the story to perfection. I think the first time I watched it, I was in shock. I must have repeated it at least 10 times in a row, just to make sure it was real and I wasn't imagining it. Then I think I screamed about it on my social media accounts, haha~ If you reading this have not watched the trailer, consider doing so. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Back when I first started posting fanfics, I used to get a lot of asks wanting to know my name, my pronouns, stuff like that. I thought by adding my name at the end of the stories, it would help cut down on these requests. But I also did so because I used to get a lot of asks referring to me as 'author-nim' and I didn't like being addressed by this honorific. I'm not Korean so I have no right to receive that honorific. So, I included my real name so readers could address me with it when sending me asks and interacting with me. I don't add my name at the end of my stories now, but my name is in my Twitter bio for those that want to know.

When I finished it, I felt relieved! I was so calm in the moment! Looking back on it, I can't remember much. But I do remember finishing House of Cards without any issues. The final chapters flowed smoothly, it all clicked into place, and I had a great time writing them.

I came to the decision to orphan the story after several nights of contemplation. I was considering deleting the story, along with a few others, but my partner and some friends told me I shouldn't do so. They suggested orphaning it instead. So, I did so. I didn't want to delete it in case readers that had started it had not gotten to finish it yet. I would've felt very mean robbing them of the opportunity to finish the story like that. I don't regret orphaning it instead of deleting it. I didn't want to destroy the story, I just needed some distance between me and the story.

I didn't anticipate it, and I still don't understand it! I'm shocked that House of Cards got the reaction that it received. Do I think it's a good story? Yes, I think that I worked hard to create a story that is enjoyable to read. But did I ever think it would get the reaction it did? Not in a million years! I thought that it would be one of my more popular stories because a) the pairings and b) the content. Gang stories usually tend to get a lot of attention because it's a popular genre in fanfiction. I just didn't expect it to reach such a vast amount of hits, kudos and comments.

I'm in shock that it is one of the most read stories on AO3. I don't think I will ever be able to create another story that will garner that kind of attention and feedback. It's a once in a lifetime thing, so I'm immensely proud of myself for achieving such a feat. But really, it's all because of the readers that it achieved such a goal. I'm so thankful for every single one of them.

I just want it to be remembered for being enjoyable, I think. I don't have any grand and lofty ambitions for the story. I think so long as the readers enjoyed it, that is all that matters.

I'm not sure what I would like readers to take away from House of Cards. I guess I want them to reflect on the idea of morality and that not everything is black-and-white. Good people can do bad things, and bad things can happen to good people. It's hard to answer this question because House of Cards isn't a story that I consider to have deep messages in it? There are no messages about acceptance and love and healthy relationships and such, like some of my other stories.

Honestly? I don't know what made it get so popular. I assume it's because of the pairings or the setting of the story. I know that a lot of readers say they love the story because of how well it's written, but I can't comment on that as the creator, haha~ I can't say my story is well-written as I'm not consuming it from an outside perspective. What I can say is that I do think I created a story that has a lot of twists and turns and betrayals, which I think adds to the enjoyment factor.

How are you now in 2020? Are you writing professionally in real life at all? 

How do you feel BTS fanfiction has changed over time? Since you’ve been writing for it for so long. 

Do you have any messages for people who may read this interview in the future?

I'm not writing professionally. I have self-published two books via Amazon and Lulu. One was a basic re-branding of my story babes in the woods. The other was a total rewrite of Brotherhood, which I called 'Brothers,' featuring a whole new setting and roster of characters. I published them as readers showed an interest in reading original stories. I have been considering rewriting House of Cards as an original work in the future, but I can't say for certain that I will do so.

Since I started writing, I think there's been a lot of changes in the fandom—not only in fanfiction but in general. There's been popular trends that have come and gone (I was around for the explosion of social media and text-based AUs, which I personally am not a fan of) but there's also been a lot of push for more inclusive content. I'm really happy by the amount of inclusive content that I see these days. Despite some pushback from non-queer fans that sometimes have an issue with queer subject matter (for example, trans characters) I think it's wonderful that artists of all colours, genders and sexualities are now proudly creating content they want to see, and not simply just what is 'in demand' from the fandom.

The message that I would like to share with readers of this interview is: stay healthy, stay happy, and most importantly, stay you. I also want to take this moment to tell them this - if you are considering becoming a creator, but you are worried about reception to your work, or that it might not be good enough, stop right now! Stop doubting yourself and just give it a shot! I was once like you, scared that my weird and niche interests and writing would be ignored or even mocked by the fandom because no one would like it. Had I not decided to take the plunge, my life would be so drastically different. I've made so many friends, fallen in love, and completely changed my life by creating fan content. It can be scary, but once you take the leap, you will find your feet coming down on solid earth without any danger.

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Charmed Seoul. Fandom Historian based on Fanlore.com. Twitter. Tumblr.

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[spectraldragon2024]

Finding Peace Q/A

Questions and Answers: (WARNING: Many of these questions and answers have spoilers for Finding Peace.)

Q: How did Whiteout find out about the Realm Between and the Dream World? I thought only Adder and his close contacts knew.

A: A personal headcanon of mine is that the NightWings were one of the few tribes in Darkstalker’s era that focused on advanced theories in the same way scientists today have theories about Darkmatter. In Finding Peace: One of these theories was about the concept of there being worlds that existed parallel to the world dragons inhabited. Even when the NightWings relocated to the volcanic island, NightWing philosophers did not abandon these theories overnight since it’s implied the volcano did not become active until centuries later. In her twilight years, she would learn about this theory (which came from a NightWing philosopher’s circle that was formed by the students of the Seer Omniscience, a controversial Seer in NightWing history.) While Whiteout was not a Somnus, not knowing the full nature of these worlds, she eventually gained access to the Realm Between. How she exactly gained access to this realm is something I plan to explore in later stories. However, I can explain how she managed to communicate with her brother across the centuries. In the Realm Between: Time is a concept, not a law. This means those who enter the Realm, whether physically or mentally, can communicate with individuals from across time. But to do so requires two individuals to be in the same location of the realm. By sacrificing her foresight, Whiteout was able to use the Realm Between to communicate with Peacemaker through various times. The final time Whiteout speaks to Peacemaker is a month before her passing.

Q: Are we going to see Moon have that important conversation with Qibli? It was left open-ended in the final Winglet.

A: Yes, I can say with absolute certainty that we will see this conversation. However, what will happen after this conversation will be up in the air. Going into the Winglet: I wanted to show that even though characters like Moon and Qibli have their “Happy Ending”, that does not necessarily mean all trials are done when a relationship begins. In Darkness of Dragons, I felt that there were some unresolved points of concern in Moon and Qibli’s personalities that I imagine would cause their newfound relationship to suffer if those concerns aren’t addressed. Ms. Sutherland once said that because both Moon and Qibli are young dragons, anything can happen between the end of Darkness of Dragons and fifty years later. Some core issues that have caused Moon and Qibli to hit a bump in their relationship stems from differing priorities. Moon is a representative and the only active Seer in the world. Her word is valued by not just the Queens of Phyrria, but Pantala as well. But she knows this isn’t just going to be her future, that there is more on the horizon. She wants the perfect ending with Qibli...but she focuses too much on that ending and tries to take steps to make it perfect.

On the other talon, you have Qibli. Despite his love and loyalty to Moon and his friends, Thorn remains the big centerpiece of his world. After all, Thorn was his mother figure who brought him out of an unstable life. He owes everything to her. That means he will be what Thorn needs him to be: An advisor, a soldier...he will be any of those. Unfortunately, this means he puts a lot of other things on the back burner, his relationship with Moon in particular. This causes a lot of distance between the two. Into the Darkness and Our Sanctuary will not show this much-needed conversation, as these stories will follow Turtle, Kinkajou, and Winter’s storylines respectively. But as I write Braving the Tempest, I do hope to write a story that runs parallel to it that shows Winter, Qibli, and Moon...and how their subplot resolves.

Q: In the Winglet that focuses on Tempest's POV: You have her meet Clearsight. During the conversation, it looks like Tempest blames Clearsight for what happened to Darkstalker. I was wondering if you believe this and if you think Darkstalker did nothing wrong?

A: Do I hate Clearsight? No, absolutely not. I thought she was a very intelligent dragon with a good heart. She loved Darkstalker and tried to turn him from the dark path he was on. I do not blame her for Darkstalker's descent into madness. Darkstalker's actions were his own, he had every opportunity to turn back and be happy. He was the only obstacle to his happiness (as Peacemaker pointed out.) That being said, while Darkstalker is the cause of his madness and sadness, I do believe Clearsight could have helped convince him to abandon his ambitions and to just be happy. The scene in question was not meant to be a sign of hatred, but rather a critique of Clearsight's decisions leading up to Darkstalker's descent. When I originally wrote the scene, I wrote it with something in mind that Tui herself once said in a Q/A Biohazardia was in and posted on their Deviant Art page. The Question asked was along the lines of what could have Clearsight have done to turn Darkstalker away from his path. Tui answered that she believed that Clearsight did love Darkstalker, but deep down she did not trust him. That was the point of the earring she had Darkstalker give her in order to keep him from reading her mind. Tui thought that, if Clearsight had shown the visions she was afraid of, then Darkstalker could have chosen a better path. I admit while Darkstalker was to blame for his actions (nobody else made him kill Arctic, that was his decision, and his alone.) I do think things could have been different as Tui said. But I like to think Clearsight knew that if she had trusted him enough to share her visions, then maybe Darkstalker could have changed. Instead of focusing so much on the future Darkstalker (good or bad) and focused on the dragon, she loved in the present, then maybe things could have been different. When Tempest and Clearsight did meet in Tempest's limbo state, Clearsight used the personality she had while she knew Darkstalker as a way to test to see how far Tempest would go for Peacemaker. The reason she tested Tempest, was because the SeaWing had a personality Clearsight wished she had when she knew Darkstalker: And that was to focus on the present. That was the basis of Clearsight's personality after she arrived on Pantala. She urged her descendants to live their lives, day by day. The future was theirs to write. With Tempest, she needed to make sure that she held firm in her beliefs, that she could save Peacemaker even if the future was dark. So while I believe Clearsight could have done things differently, I want to make it clear that I do not consider her responsible for Darkstalker's own actions

Q: Will you explore quantum mechanics in future stories? (i.e. Time Travel.)

A: While I think time travel would be an interesting concept in Wings of Fire, unfortunately, it's not one I will be exploring in The Darkest Eclipse AU. My thoughts on time travel as a plot device are that it is a can of worms, one if not handled correctly can leave the readers confused (I know I have left many unanswered questions in Finding Peace, but that was simply because the answers to those questions I felt would be better explored outside of Peacemaker's POV). While there are ways for individuals from the past to communicate with someone in the future (such as Whiteout reaching out to Peacemaker throughout the story) there is no way for individuals from the future to physically travel to the past. The Darkest Eclipse prophecy focuses more on the Paranormal and how it relates to established magic and laws of physics in Wings of Fire canon (like how Somnus magic interacts with Animus magic.) That being said, if I were to explore Time Travel: I would follow the theory that time is a closed loop (as in the past cannot be changed, it has already been decided, and that any changes done to the timeline must occur in the future). This, I feel, can be properly explained and leave little confusion for the reader.

Q: TempestMaker or PeaceCliff?

A: Wait, there are ship names?

Jokes aside, I will say that at the end of Finding Peace: Peacemaker does not view Cliff or Tempest in a romantic light. He does love them as much as he loves his mother and Moon, they are important dragons to him and he cannot imagine his life without them. But he does not love them romantically. Will this change in the future? Likely. But for now, Peacemaker is not in the right space mentally to have a romantic relationship. He needs to discover what he wants with his life now that he is free to make it, discover what he wants to do with his future. Once all of the uncertainty in his life is cleared up, that could change.

Q: Apple Juice or Orange Juice? Also: Any tips for keeping a decent writing schedule?

A: I like both, but I lean heavily towards apple juice (always nice to start and end the day with something sweet to drink, but nothing too unhealthy.)

When it comes to writing schedules: What I did with Finding Peace was setting up deadlines for myself. I have always worked well under the knowledge that I have a deadline that I need to meet. Now, that being said, my preferred deadlines may not be for everyone. One of my best friends and colleagues, DONOVAN94, is able to get chapters for her stories out in a single week when she has everything planned out and ready! But that is because she has chapters outlined, and afterward all she needs to do is write in critical info. This works for her, but I always focused on posting one chapter a month. Now I explored posting multiple chapters in a month during the tail end of Finding Peace. While it worked out okay, it left me exhausted...and honestly, I am still tired after doing it.

All in all: My biggest advice to writers (whether fanfiction or writers who want to become published) is to work at your own pace. Set deadlines for yourself that you think you can meet, and never hesitate to experiment.

Q: Who is Omniscience? He is only mentioned at the end of the story when you posted The Darkest Eclipse Prophecy.

A: Omniscience was a NightWing seer who lived during the founding of the NightWing tribe, many centuries before Darkstalker’s era. During Darkstalker and Clearsight’s generation: Omniscience is regarded as one of the wisest seers in NightWing history, as well as the most controversial. Omniscience was born on a night when all three moons were full, but entered a “Thrice Lunar Eclipse'', with each moon eclipsing the other. Instead of receiving both mindreading and foresight NightWing abilities, Omniscience received only the power of foresight. However, because all three moons were technically full that night: The eclipse basically “overcharged” Omniscience’s foresight. This allowed him to see multiple millennia into the future with clarity even Clearsight did not have. However, despite this great power: Omniscience suffered from severe psychosis, causing him great difficulty in his early life to tell the difference between his visions, tricks of the mind, and reality. It’s because of his friends and family’s support did Omniscience learn to embrace his entire self, and became one of the wisest seers in NightWing history. He was controversial because of his philosophy that a wise Seer is not one who tries to map out the future for other dragons, but those who embrace the unknown of the future. In his prophecies he did not address large audiences, but instead, his prophecies addressed dragons in the future, offering them wisdom in difficult times he saw them face. The Darkest Eclipse Prophecy is one of his two final prophecies, alongside another prophecy. These two prophecies have long since been stored in a secret archive, somewhere in Phyrria.

Q: Which character was difficult for you to write in Finding Peace?

A: This might come off as strange, but the one character that was difficult to write throughout Finding Peace was actually Peacemaker himself. The reason this is the case centers around the circumstances of his “birth.” While, in canon, he is not the first year-old dragonet we have seen: But he is the first that was born out of Animus magic and his personality was made from that magic. While we have witnessed the perspective of those influenced by Animus enchantments (when Winter very briefly became Pyrite), Peacemaker is different as he will be living his life following an enchantment. Throughout Finding Peace, I had to balance the enchantment’s dictations and, yet, try to write Peacemaker so he was not simply someone being dictated by magic. In the end: I settled for the enchantment is in place in certain areas of his personality, while making Peacemaker strong-willed enough to actually have a choice of what he likes (as seen when he starts to show interest in food outside of strawberries or standing his ground when his friends were harassed.)

Q: Which is strongest: Animus or Somnus Magic?

A: At their core: Animus and Somnus magic are equal and capable of the same things. However, because of the rules around magic in the AU: It is too dangerous to use Animus magic in the Dream World, or Somnus Magic in the Waking World. As shown in Finding Peace: If you use them in worlds where they are not meant to exist, those worlds will seek to eliminate the magic and its user. The only place both magics can coexist safely in is The Realm Between, where it’s believed both magic originated from. In Finding Peace’s climax this happens, and from there: The power of the magic all depends on the skill of the user. So, long story short, neither magic is stronger than the other. While both magics have advantages and disadvantages depending on the realm of existence the user is currently located in when they are on the same playing field both magics would be left at a standstill.

Q: Most Peacemaker centric fics have Peacemaker be best friends with both Prince Cliff and Princess Auklet, why wasn’t Auklet in the story?

A: Truth is, Auklet was originally going to be one of Peacemaker’s friends in the Quartz Winglet. In my original outline: The main trio would have been Peacemaker, Cliff, and Auklet. Tempest was going to be The Jade Mountain Academy’s counselor, in which she used her Somnus magic to see what bothered the minds of the students. However, the more I thought about it, the more I felt Tempest would have a better role as a Clawmate of Peacemaker and Cliff.

Q: Are Tempest and Cliff reincarnations of Clearsight and Fathom?

A: Yes, Tempest and Cliff are both spiritual reincarnations. While they do not physically resemble Clearsight and Fathom, their spirits are connected to the two dragons. When I drafted Tempest and Cliff’s interactions with the spirits of the two dragons who had such a significant impact on Darkstalker’s life, I drew inspiration from the belief that reincarnation is spiritual, rather than physical (like pouring water from one cup into another cup.) Now, it’s important to note that while they are reincarnations of Clearsight and Fathom, this does not mean Tempest and Cliff are actually those two dragons. Rather, it just means their souls are similar. This allowed Tempest to speak with Clearsight, and Cliff speaks with Fathom when they were in a state of limbo.

Q: Where were Turtle, Kinkajou, and Peril during Finding Peace?

A: Peril is currently living in the Sky Kingdom. While she and Clay live together in the Academy, for the last few months Peril has been staying in the Sky Kingdom...waiting for an important day to occur. Once this day happens, she will be returning to her home in Jade Mountain.

As for Turtle and Kinkajou: Their whereabouts during Finding Peace will be addressed in Into the Darkness. But I will say that what is happening by the climax of Finding Peace is not good for Turtle or Kinkajou.

Q: Why did you include Somnus magic in Finding Peace?

A: When writing Finding Peace, I took into consideration how I could allow bits of Darkstalker’s memories and personality could bleed into Peacemaker. Given the nature of the enchantment, it would not be as simple as putting on a copy of Qibli’s enchanted earrings (Tui confirmed that Peacemaker would die if he put on the earrings.) So I needed to come up with a way that could allow Peacemaker’s slow rediscovery of his past life: And that was with the inclusion of Somnus magic and Adder, while also implying Peacemaker’s strong will allowed only part of the enchantment to take effect (it’s been shown that dragons with strong wills can overcome Animus enchantments.) With Adder tormenting Peacemaker’s dreams by pushing memories of Darkstalker into his mind via dreams, Peacemaker would still be Peacemaker, but the Somnus magic allowed that anguish and confusion in his mind to occur. Needless to say, I was nervous about the introduction of Somnus magic, as I felt readers might think I was “Jumping the shark.” In order to make Somnus magic make sense, I focused on the rules and limitations of this magic and how it interacted with Animus magic. This way Somnus magic is not instantly more powerful than magic from canon.

Q: Why did the group of bandits refer to Lynx and Bobcat as “Cursed ones” in the Winglets for Finding Peace? Why is there a group dedicated to killing them?

A: In the Darkest Eclipse AU there exist multiple secret societies that are aware of the paranormal of the world (such as The Dream World and Realm Between, though they are typically named differently depending on the organization.) As for this particular group, the Bandits that raid the border between the Sand and Ice Kingdoms hunt for the paranormal while seeking to make a profit off of them. As for why this organization targetted Lynx, in particular, has less to do with who she was as a dragon, but everything to do with her ancestry. As Qibli and Hailstorm discovered: Lynx is descended from the Somnus bloodline, making her a very distant cousin of Surf’s family. When she traveled from the Ice Kingdom to Sanctuary, the bandits targetted and killed her because of this bloodline...and the fact that she was married to Winter, who has ancestors from a line of animus dragons. As for why the bandits would want to kill Bobcat: in essence, he is a dragonet of the Somnus and Animus bloodlines. While Lynx does not have an active Somnus Gene, and Winter does not have an active Animus Gene, the bandits viewed this union as cursed, as no dragon has ever seen an Animus or Somnus descendant have a dragonet. Fearing what they do not understand, the bandits killed Lynx to prevent the hatching of a dragonet of the Somnus and Animus bloodlines. Ultimately the bandits failed in the objective of killing Bobcat before he hatched: As the last act Lynx did before succumbing to her wounds, was hiding her son’s egg in a place Qibli would find when he, Hailstorm, Winter, and guards of the boarder arrived.

As for if Bobcat’s existence will remain secret to the bandits and other groups like them: That remains to be seen.

Q: Are there any more stories planned for The Quartz Winglet? Will we see Peacemaker’s life in the Sky Kingdom with Cliff, or the Quartz Winglet reuniting during the Winter Solstice festival in the Sky Kingdom?

A: Yes, to all.

Sometime before the summer: I plan to do a short story that takes place two weeks after the end of Finding Peace, in which we see a day in Peacemaker’s life in the Sky Kingdom and how he is faring. I feel this short is important as it will show one last POV dedicated to Peacemaker and how he is starting to rebuild his life.

We will definitely continue to follow The Quartz Winglet in future stories. Braving the Tempest will follow Tempest’s point of view and show the Quartz Winglet reuniting in the Sky Kingdom during the winter solstice festival. The relationships between these young dragons will continue to progress in the sequel to Finding Peace, named Braving the Tempest, and I look forward to showing you all what new adventures they will have in the future.

#Wings of Fire #Fanfiction #Finding Peace #The Darkest Eclipse Prophecy AU #Question and Answer

[tyrras]

LONG MASS EFFECT POST

Long, nerdy Mass Effect post that will probably bore everyone to tears, but I've got to get this out of my head and you're my victims. Since Bioware has announced that the series will be remastered and another sequel is in the works, I played it through again for the 4th or 5th time. I always play as a Paragon, and I always choose Synthesis. Paragon is just because I can’t enjoy being an asshole (the option to be Renegade). The rest of this post is dedicated to explaining my repeated choice of Synthesis. Warning: If you haven't played ME but think you might when the series is remastered, there are SPOILERS here. Also, Mass Effect is a Sci-Fi Space epic RPG (video game) trilogy.

The premise is this: Millenia ago (billions and billions), an almost immortal and godlike species existed (the Leviathan) that made thralls of lesser civilizations. The 'indoctrination' was subtle enough that the lesser species didn't even know they were thralls, but rather thought they were worshipping Leviathan. Since the Leviathan are essentially immortal, they noticed a particular cycle. Each civilization would eventually create artificial intelligence that they used to serve their own needs. This intelligence would become more and more sentient and eventually rebel against their creators (which always wanted to keep the AI as a tool or slave race), wiping out that civilization. Leviathan can enthrall organic creatures, but not synthetic life, and so it lost its tribute over and over. This annoyed Leviathan, so it, too, created an artificial intelligence, not missing the irony per se, but arrogantly thinking it was above the problem the lesser species encountered when doing so. Leviathan posed the Artificial Intelligence with one problem to solve: find a solution to the inevitable genocidal conflict between synthetic and organic life.

The AI (called ‘Stargazer’ and ‘The Catalyst’ in ME canon) attempted many solutions through several cycles, but ultimately it came to one very grim one. It created a race of spacefaring beings that were synthetic replicas of Leviathan in all ways. Immortal, supremely intelligent, and capable of indoctrinating organic life forms through a kind of telepathic neurological quantum entanglement (fine, ‘mind control.’ I didn’t write the story, ok?). This entire purpose of this race of synthetic creatures (The Reapers) was to destroy all advanced organic life BEFORE they could get wiped out by their own synthetic creations. All lesser organic life would be left to develop along a specific trajectory. Then, when that lesser life developed enough to create it’s own synthetic life, the Reapers would come out of hibernation in dark space, swoop into the galaxy and destroy all advanced life again, leaving no traces of themselves or the previous civilizations. Lesser life was preserved, and the cycle would begin anew. It is important to note that the Reapers ‘harvest’ the civilizations they slaughtered. The knowledge and history of each cycle was preserved within the bodies of the Reapers themselves. Thus, the Reapers grew to be MORE than Leviathan. The Reapers became the living synthetic embodiment of all civilizations in the galaxy, while simultaneously being the end of it.

This cycle lasted approximately 50,000 years.

Essentially, Leviathan made the problem worse, was almost completely wiped out by its own creation. The few survivors ran away and hid, and allowed the Reapers to return again and again.

All this background is important because I want to make one point: The Catalyst, that AI created by Leviathan, is merely a creation of a flawed organic species (even if said species didn’t know it was flawed). While it can evolve and grow, it still reflects its creator’s limitations. It is not an infallible entity and misses the irony of the Reapers, a synthetic race, destroying all organic life as a means of preventing inevitable organic genocide. They genuinely think that they are preserving organic life by allowing lesser species to evolve. They do not see themselves as destroyers, but some type of strange preservationists.

So. All that for this: Your character, Commander Shepard, is a human soldier who discovers the Reapers are beginning their next cycle. All advanced civilizations in the galaxy are now on the verge of extinction. It’s your job to find a way to defeat them.

At the end of the trilogy, Commander Shepard, has gone further towards defeating the Reapers than any organic life before. Ultimately, he meets The Catalyst and gets 3 choices (there’s a whole controversy around this, but I’m skipping that): Destroy, Control, or Synthesis.

In the Destroy ending, you kill all the Reapers, but the side effect is that ALL synthetic life in the galaxy also dies. This includes a race that has just evolved to full sentience, and a valued crew member whom you have helped to discover her ‘humanity’ (think of a female version of Data, and then think of having to kill him in order to kill the Reapers). This solution does not end the cycle of synthetic life against organic life; it simply destroys the Reapers and all current synthetic life. I can never choose this ending because I cannot bring myself to commit genocide, even though this means sacrificing myself and leaving my love to mourn my death alone in the galaxy (a whole other tragic but beautiful drama in this series). With the death of the Reapers comes the final death of all civilizations that they harvested.

In the Control ending, you must sacrifice yourself to become a kind of godlike part of the Reaper higher consciousness and, in effect, control them. You lose your humanity. This solution does not end the cycle of synthetic life against organic life; it simply controls the Reapers. Presumably, you could force the Reapers to aid organic life and warn them. You could indoctrinate all organic life. This option is one of absolute and godlike power to one individual. I can never choose this option because I cannot believe that kind of control to one individual is morally acceptable. I, personally, cannot accept that kind of power.

In the Synthesis ending, you sacrifice yourself to create a genetic fusion between all organic and synthetic life. All life across the galaxy undergoes a dramatic change, and all life going forward will be this fusion. You die, but your cells were used to make this change, and so you become a part of everything. This is perhaps the least popular ending, but it is the one I ALWAYS choose, despite the emotional devastation of leaving Kaidan (my romantic interest in the series). It ends the conflict between organic and synthetic life, and all the knowledge of previous civilizations that were destroyed is now alive again (at least in the sense of a kind of universal database).

An aside: there is an option NOT to choose. It ends with the Reapers harvesting all current organic life, and the cycle continuing.

The critiques of the Synthesis ending are interesting.  The only one I find particularly compelling is the one about consent, as you literally decide to change the DNA/programming for every living creature, synthetic and organic without consulting them. You can’t—it’s a decision that must be made right there. ALL decisions you make involve this— and the only one you can choose based on ‘consent’ is to destroy the Reapers because everyone has showed up for the purpose of killing them. However, I doubt the synthetic civilization, which is fighting for survival just like everyone else, would agree to collectively be wiped out.

The potential loss of the ‘Individual and Free Will’ is major concern about the synthesis ending.  Players critical of the Synthesis ending interpret the lack of conflict and understanding to mean that you’ve essentially created the Borg— a hive mind across all species. There is no evidence to support this.  In the extended cut where it shows creatures in all races still wearing individual clothing and otherwise displaying individual behavior, their species are still developing within the individual characteristics of their kind.  Even the Reapers (who harvested and absorbed countless organic civilizations) were, in their own words, ‘each a nation unto itself.’ Such a proclamation suggests borders and distinction. This self description comes before the Synthesis, but many players often treat the Reapers as a kind of collective, which is inaccurate. The game treats the Synthesis ending as a type of evolution where conflict between organic and synthetic life ends, and since the Reapers’ knowledge has now been absorbed, lessons of the past and cultural achievements help foster a deeper understanding that leads to a kind of extended peace and cultural renaissance on a galactic scale.  It does NOT say that ALL conflict ends, only the cycle of conflict between organic and synthetic life.

Players also state that the Synthesis ending suggests the ‘pinnacle of evolution of organic and synthetic life’ and that there is nothing more to attain, no room for growth. The Catalyst states that Synthesis is the end result of all life.  I don’t accept this interpretation. The Catalyst is right— in a Hegellian dialectic sense, all life will result in synthesis, and then THAT new life will encounter struggles and a new synthesis will ultimately prevail.  Simply because player can’t imagine life evolving after this solution does not mean  it can’t happen.

I have two thoughts about the Catalyst’s statement that Synthesis is the end point of Evolution:1) It is an entity that is billions of years old and sees processes in a scope beyond our short lifespanned species can comprehend. It’s referring to evolution in a cyclical, metaphysical manner. Thesis (A) meets Antithesis (B) and Synthesis (C) results. Then the Synthesis now becomes the new Thesis and the cycle continues. This is the one I personally believe.

2) It’s simply wrong. The Catalyst demonstrates several times that it is capable of mistakes in judgment, some of them egregious and horrific in scope. This is the one I think will be used by BioWare in continuing the series, regardless of which ending it bases the continuation upon. ALL of this started because one species got angry it kept losing its thralls and made an AI to solve that problem, which was exactly part of the problem. That AI (the Catalyst) was this creation and is inherently bound to at least some of the flaws of its creators.

So, all this is just me explaining why I believe that the Synthesis ending is the only morally right choice, at least for me. Morals are by definition defined by individual codes, and I’m choosing that word deliberately over ‘ethics.’ I do not believe that ME left the player with any ethical choice, which, for me, was part of the beauty of it. It bother me that the canonical ‘Perfect’ ending is the Destroy ending with Shepard surviving. You commit galactic genocide, but you survive- this is the ‘perfect’ ending? I have major issues with that.

And yes, I know that there is a theory that Synthesis and Control are both elaborate ruses of Indoctrination meant to get Shepard, the only threat the Reapers have ever known, to destroy himself. I simply don’t buy it, as I feel that theory needs to come with a tinfoil hat.

Also, in my head canon, Shepard survives and Kaidan finds him (I always play mshenko). Fuck that dying crap. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

#mass effect #masseffect #me1 #me2 #me3 #masseffecttriliogy #mshenko #synthesis ending #synthesis #nerdy #commandershepard #shep #kaidan #georg wilhelm friedrich hegel #dialectic #overthinking #i love it anyways #holy crap this is long #apologies

[merakiaes]

All Is Well - Avengers

Pairing: Avengers x Stark!reader (platonic)

Requested: No.

Warnings/notes: !ENDGAME SPOILERS! Just wanted to write a short and fluffy alternate ending for Endgame, it sucks and doesn’t have much interaction in it but I haven’t written in two months so I’m a bit rusty. 

Wordcount: 2661

Summary: Just a simple alternate ending to Endgame where you’re Tony Stark’s adoptive daughter. 

(Y/N) Stark. How does one describe (Y/N) Stark?

Various psychiatrists had tried and failed. Big time.

You were, to put it the nicest way possible, a plague. You were the biggest pain the Avengers had ever had the misfortune to meet, you were like a rash they couldn't reach and that never went away.

It was a given, wasn’t it? You were your father’s daughter at heart and in soul. It was pretty much in your job description to be annoying those around you, despite the fact that you weren’t related by blood. But it was pretty clear by now that family didn’t end in blood.

But still, they all loved you.

Tony Stark had taken you in when you were merely seven of age. It was a mission gone wrong at a HYDRA base. Tony and Steve had ran through the halls towards the exit, very much in a hurry to avoid the fate of being blown to pieces, which was sure to come if they wasted another minute in the facility.

But they had stopped, as a muffled crying sound entered their ears when passing a door. Tony tried to convince Steve that it was nothing, that it was probably a trick to lure them in long enough to get them killed, but Steve insisted they checked it out.

It took a good minute and a half of banging his shield against the lock to get the door open, and during the whole time he was mentally apologizing for whoever it was that was stuck on the inside, himself flinching at the loud sounds that echoed through the hallway.

That’s where they found you; in a heavily secured cell built in vibranium, each wall 4 inches thick. You had shielded your eyes as the door opened, the red flashing lights that entered hurting your eyes form being in the dark for so long.

Steve had given Tony a ‘I told you so’-look, before proceeding to squat down, inching closer to you with his hand stretched out in front of him to show you that he meant no harm. But in the state you were in, you only backed further into your corner.

It was only then the two men noticed the heavy metal bracelets clasped to your wrists. It was only then they realized, you were one of the experiments. And to be locked up the way you were, you had to be powerful.

They had exchanged a glance, noticing and realizing the same thing at the same time, and Tony had taken the same stance as Steve, crouching down and trying to beck you to him. The flashing lights outside the cell reflected on the strange man’s equally as strange metal armor, catching your attention, and to both his and Steve’s surprise, you flung yourself into his arms.

Tony had to push the shock to the back of his head as you buried your face in his exposed neck and wrapped your tiny arms around his shoulder, standing up in a hurry and running out of there just in time to avoid being blown up, Steve not far behind.

He had carried you all the way to the helicarrier, the rest of the team being more than surprised as Tony brought a little girl onto the ship, said girl’s hands squeezing onto her stuffed lynx with all her might.

That’s how you got your nickname; Lynx. They didn’t know your real name at first. They had managed to hack into the, now fallen, HYDRA base’s data system and pull out your file, but parts of it was damaged. Neither your origins or backstory was in it, only your name, age and medical and experimental history from your stay at the HYDRA base.

You were seven years old, named (Y/N). They couldn’t find a last name, or any information of who your family might have been.

You didn’t let go of Tony once during your trip back to Stark Tower, and upon your arrival when Tony tried handing you over to a female with red hair, you clung to him even harder. He had been annoyed to say the least, but it was clear by then that you weren’t going to let go anytime soon.

The rest of the Avengers could only stare as Pepper instructed the clueless man on how to handle you as he, although begrudgingly, gave you a bath, cleaned you up and tried to get you to eat.

Several hours passed before you let him go, falling asleep in his arms and finally allowing him to put you down into his bed, the Lynx plushie hugged to your chest as you snored lightly. This gave the team the time they needed to read through your HYDRA file.

The Germans had called you dangerous, lethal; death itself. In the file, the importance of the metal bracelets was mentioned more than once. Without it, your powers would be uncontrollable, and you could cause death to anyone who came close enough.

Tony was the only one who didn’t think it would be safe to keep you around, pointing out several times that you actually had the power to manipulate any lifeform and kill them in an instant. But Nick Fury wouldn’t have it, pretty much ordering the whole team to take you in.

So, they did. And as time passed by, you grew to be comfortable with the rest of the team, as well. But you never left Tony’s side. And he grew to like it, not that he would admit it. But everyone knew, seeing as come your tenth birthday, he officially adopted you and gave you his name.

He had used the power source of your bracelets to build a chamber where you could practice your powers without anyone coming to harm, and also adjusted the original bracelets into slightly more discrete and practical ones as you had been complaining practically since day one that they were heavy.

But despite having a place of your own where you could practice your powers, you didn’t. The memories of HYDRA using you as some kind of executioner to suck the life out of their enemies were still fresh in your mind, even as you entered your teenage years.

Still at the age of nineteen, the tormented screams and the feeling of their energy entering you and clawing at you from the inside was not something you wanted to feel again. Because of this, you kept your bracelets on and more often than not stayed at home while the others went on missions.

But then you met Loki, and even though he was supposed to be the bad guy, you couldn’t help but like him. Surprisingly, he took a liking to you, too. It was a short and brief relationship, entirely platonic.

But even during that short time he managed to help you a great deal with your powers, with only one advice: “The key to controlling your power is to stop trying to control it and deny its existence in the first place.”

It was thanks to this that you were able to, for the first time yet, fight side by side with the rest of the team when Thanos entered the picture. You found yourself in space with Tony, Dr. Strange and Spider-Man when the snap happened, and Tony had to watch both you and Peter fade away to dust.

You were gone. His only true source of happiness and probably one of the most powerful people on the planet, had you only learnt to control your powers, gone with just a snap, along with the kid he had taken under his wing and sworn to protect.

It was all he could think about when he was stuck in space, and once he had been brought back home, everyone that was left could see how badly the snap had affected him. He barely spoke, hid himself away, until the day he left and settled down with Pepper.

When he arrived at the Avengers’ warehouse to help with the time heist, he had your stuffed Lynx stuck into the pocket of his jacket. No one said a word as he passed them and walked into the building, wasting no time in getting to work.

They managed to pull it off, with some struggle, and they won. But for some reason, you hadn’t come back with the others during the fight against Thanos. None of the victims of the snap had seen you in the quantum realm. Dr. Strange’s explanation was that you, somehow, must have hid away.

It wasn’t until Tony was taking his final breath that he finally felt you. A cold breeze swayed by them as they were all kneeling in front of their dying savior, causing Pepper to draw her hand back from Tony’s cheek and stumble back.

They watched as the sand under their feet started swirling about, a barely noticeable, dark shadow rising along with it. Tears pricked Tony’s eyes at the sight, closing his eyes at the feeling of a light caress against his cheek.

Everyone around him were quiet as they watched the scene unfold before them. They watched as the shadow stroked its hand against Tony’s cheek, they watched as he took his last breath, and then they watched the shadow push into the front of his body.

It was quiet for a moment, before Tony’s eyes suddenly shot open, his body launching itself forward, Pepper and Strange hurrying to catch him before he fell on his face.

They hadn’t seen your physical body at the time, but they all knew who it was that had brought Tony back. Not a word was spoken as everyone reunited with their loved ones and made their way back to their world through Strange’s portals.

Not a word was said as the team made their way into the Avengers warehouse. That is, until the smell hit them.

They all seemed to think the same thing, stopping abruptly in the doorway. They all knew that smell, the smell of your favourite food that seemed to be the only thing you could cook without burning the entire kitchen down.

“I hope you guys are hungry.” A voice suddenly came from further into the room, causing everyone to jump in shock.

They all turned to look in the direction of the voice, eyes widening as they watched Natasha casually stroll into the room, hands wiping down on a towel she had stuck into her jean pocket.

Everyone stood frozen, both mesmerized and terrified that she was there, smiling like it was just any other day in their lives.

The Black Widow chuckled at the sight of her friends and colleagues, finally stopping in front of them. “Come on.” She spoke again, hands propping on her hips. “Cat got your tongues?”

Clint was the first to react, shooting forward like one of his own arrows and crashing her into a bone crushing hug. They stood there for a good minute, just crying into each other’s necks, before the rest of the team went around getting their own reunions with the female assassin.

“But how?” Clint asked as they had all gone around hugging her, still not believing his eyes.

Natasha only smiled, turning to look at Tony. “Your daughter really is something, Stark.” Her smile widened. “While you were all running around in space, saving the world, she went on a mission of her own.”

Tony couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His knees suddenly got weak, causing him to stumble lightly. Luckily, Thor was right as his side to catch him before he hit the floor.

“She-“ He found himself unable to form words. Swallowing, he took a deep breath. “She’s here? She’s okay?”

Natasha nodded, the smile never leaving her lips. “She’s okay. She’s right in here, in the kitchen. We-“

Natasha wasn’t able to finish her sentence, Tony not wasting another second before shooting forward in the direction of the kitchen, the others close behind.

“Tony.” Natasha tried to run after him, grabbing his arm to get him to slow down. But he wouldn’t have it.

Natasha tugged on his arm. “Tony. Before you go in there, I need to tell you, (Y/N) had a little-“

She stopped herself again as Tony came to an abrupt halt in the kitchen doorway. “-help.” She finished with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose in a way to prepare herself for the yelling that was sure to come.

However, before Tony could speak, Thor barged past them and into the kitchen. “Brother!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, the walls seeming to shake at the intense volume.

Loki didn’t get a second to react before he was crushed into his brother’s embrace, the God of Thunder crying and rambling as he hugged him hard. “You’re here.”

“There, there.” Loki awkwardly patted his brother’s shoulder, sparing a glance to the wooden spoon he had dropped to the floor with the force of the attack.

Tony and the rest of the team stared long and hard at the God of Mischief, and you scoffed, as they seemingly hadn’t even acknowledged you at the other side of the room yet. “I’m here, too.” You spoke then, crossing your arms over your chest.

The sound of your voice instantly woke Tony up from his hateful thought-bubble and he whipped his head around to look at you.

“(Y/N).” He stated, eyes widening and mouth falling open at the sight of you. There you were, wearing your usual sports shorts and one of his t-shirts, hair up in a lazy ponytail and a purple apron wrapped around your neck and back.

“In the flesh.” You grinned at him, and a second later you were wrapped in his warm embrace.

Tears pricked your eyes as you breathed in the familiar smell of his cologne, arms coming to wrap around his neck.

“I thought I lost you.” He mumbled into your neck, eyes still wide open and staring into the wall behind you all while silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

You chuckled gently, squeezing your eyes shut. “I thought I lost you.”

He didn’t say anything else. He just held you. And you held him. During your reunion and sweet father-daughter moment, Loki was shaking hands and making amends with the rest of the team after Natasha had explained how you had gone on a time heist yourself to be able to get him back, and that Loki in turn, had helped you discover that you were also able to use your powers to do good and assisted you in getting Natasha and Tony back.

They were all in shock, each of them taking their time to dwell on the news while keeping on their side of the kitchen to give you and Tony privacy.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.” You mumbled into Tony’s chest, drowning out the sound coming from the rest of the group behind you.

You felt his arms squeeze you tighter. “But you were.” He whispered. “I felt it. I wouldn’t be here without you.”

“I was just repaying you for all of the times you’ve been there for me. I wouldn’t be here without you, either.”

Tony couldn’t do anything other than let out a relieved and happy chuckle as he brought his hand up to smooth your hair. “I love you, kid.”

“I love you, too, dad.” You smiled to yourself, happy tears escaping your eyes as you glanced behind Tony to watch the others start to lay the table and put out the food you, Natasha and Loki had made together before the others’ arrival.

The screaming and fighting both you and Natasha had expected to without a doubt happen when the Avengers first realized that Loki was there, never happened. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, everyone was happy and getting along.

And all was well.  

#avengers #avengers imagine #avengers x reader #tony stark #tony stark x reader #tony stark daughter #tony stark x daughter!reader #loki x thor #natasha x clint #natasha romanoff #black widow #natasha romanoff x reader #loki x reader #endgame spoilers #marvel imagine #marvel x reader #marvel one shot #avengers one shot

[mbtiofwhys]

Kurisu Makise

INTP 

Functional order: Ti - Ne - Si - Fe

Spoiler warning

This article will cover Kurisu’s analysis with precise reference to the plot. Also, please note that:

this article only refers to the anime adaptation of S;G, as none of us mods has still played the visual novel. 

this article only refers to Stein’s;Gate classic, as only ENFP mod have seen the movies and the Zero. If you have further comments or want to discuss about it, leave a comment or contact us!

Judging Functional Axis

Introverted Thinking (Ti) / Extroverted Feeling (Fe) 

First and foremost, Kurisu is rational. She analyzes everything she sees, never satisfied with superficial explanations but always looking for the pieces of the puzzle and the rules that support the structure. She needs her own framework to work with, highly values a methodical approach and takes pride in her logic- to the point that she refuses to accept something that ‘doesn’t make sense’ even if everything around her proves otherwise. Kurisu strongly rejects even the possibility that time-travel could be real, at first, because logically that doesn’t fit with either her system or all the soundest scientific theories. The cell phone–operated microwave Okabe got to build has been created by pure experimentation, following a trial-and-error, more casual approach, rather than a structured one - so Kurisu’s first reaction at witnessing bananas turned into a jelly is to run away, because such a thing shouldn’t be possible, it’s not logical that it’s possible. But, when she accepts that a time-traveling microwave does in fact exist, she grabs a marker and writes everything down on a whiteboard to better understand how it works. Only after she’s clarified the rules and the theory behind the machine, she’s able to proceed with the next step: improving it.

Kurisu’s strong Ti is counterbalanced by her inferior Fe. She can lecture an entire class about her articles and discuss quantum physics, but she doesn’t fit well around too many people in social circumstances and is overall quite awkward when it comes to interacting with others. She’s in denial of her feelings most of the time, regarding Okabe but not limited to him. She hates getting emotional and overall finds emotions to be a burden. Nonetheless, her Fe can be easily spotted in her working overall well with the other lab members. She admits to enjoy the lively atmosphere (in opposition to her previous workplace) and the “round tables” summoned by Okabe. Her Ti makes her stubborn and honest when speaking, but she doesn’t like conflict and prefers when everyone works together and in harmony - as she states more than once to both Mayuri and Suzuha, as the second clearly dislikes her. 

Perceiving Functional Axis

Extroverted Intuition (Ne) / Introverted Sensing (Si)

Her Ti paired with her Ne is what defines her character as ‘being a genius’: she’s not afraid of asking questions, and tries to look at things from a different perspective and to consider various options. She’s not only generally curious, but also knowledgeable about many topics, from neuroscience to physics - and she puts all her knowledge at work to improve Okabe’s creation, literally mixing notions from the most various fields to create the Time-Leap Machine. 

She enjoys discussions and doesn’t back off from confuting theories and abstractions, and this enables her to be more open to Okabe’s unmethodical experiments and to accept that time traveling is indeed possible. Her aux-Ne, paired with Ti and Si, also makes her extremely cautious before taking action: if Okabe leaps into things without further thinking, Kurisu is the exact opposite. She has to think about what to do first, and has to ponder all the viable options to better judge what is the most logical course of action (Ti-Ne).

Her Si, although tertiary, shows in her tides with her past and in the general value that Kurisu confers to past experience: as she states at around episode 20, it’s one’s past and mistakes that define who a person is. This also affects her method, as she usually proceeds in little steps (compared to Okabe, who tends to be ‘all or nothing’), does continuous comparisons between things, theories and experiences (Ne-Si) and tends to avoid risks when it’s not necessary.

Also typed as: INTJ

This is the most common mistype about Kurisu - someone opts for ISTJ as well, but looking around on the internet, INTJ is the one you’ll probably find.

Our article is of course not the universal truth, but we are confident in typing Kurisu as INTP. Here’s why (in addition to the previous analysis):

Ni, especially if dominant, is not only about the future, but is also about the intrinsic meaning of things, the most general patterns and symbols. It’s a highly abstract, subjective introverted function that searches for what a certain thing means to it, rather than how something works. Here’s the key difference between Ni and Ti: if Ni sees a computer, it looks for a way to interpret said computer, it sees how the computer can fit in Ni’s own subjective framework. If Ti sees a computer, on contrary, it tries to understand how it works, what are its components and how they’re connected, so that Ti can form its knowledge about computers and build up its own with the pieces it finds around in the world.

Kurisu doesn’t has Te. Te looks for facts, objective logic and proven truths - Kurisu isn’t like that and it shows starting from the very first episodes, when she runs away from the lab. If Te is provided with the proof that something can happen before its own eyes, it tends to believe it, because it’s in the real world. If you can do it, then it’s doable - Te logic. Kurisu on contrary is still skeptic even when she accepts to stay in the lab: all her doubts crumble only when she has all the information she needs, and she can complete the theory behind D-Mails and time traveling. Only after she thought about the pieces and formed her own theory she is confident in assessing that time travel is possible and how to do it.

Consequently, she isn’t a Se user but, most of all, she isn’t a Fi user: her self-awareness isn’t very high, and she often questions herself about her identity as a person and as a scientist. She doesn’t show signs of Fi, but definitely shows many signs of inferior-Fe.

Regarding the ISTJ typing, the Te/Fi point is still valid, plus: Kurisu certainly has Si, but it isn’t that high. She is overall versatile, open and not too rigid on her opinion. It’s not that ISTJ cannot change their mind, but it takes them time, effort and a good amount of solid reasons. Kurisu’s auxiliary Ne on contrary enables her to confute her flawed logical theories about time traveling so that she can build a new system and proceed with the improvement of the Time-Leap Machine. She can confront changes and unexpected circumstances and doesn’t necessary needs a plan: she can make one up if it’s needed, she only has to think things through and consider various options - TiNe, as we’ve said.

For further reading:

An article by funkymbti about INTP vs INTJ: https://funkymbtifiction.tumblr.com/post/83933024503/type-contrast-intj-vs-intp-how-can-you-tell-them

Two big entries from mbtinotes about Te vs Ti (https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/post/142863816372/type-spotting-te-v-ti) and Fe vs Fi (https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/post/137908467362/type-spotting-fe-v-fi)

#steinsgate #kurisumakise #makisekurisu #kurisu makise #makise kurisu #anime #mbti #mbti of whys #intp #ti dom #ne aux #si tert #fe inf #chtype:intp #chtype:kurisumakise #typology #character analysis #fictional characters

[spirit-science-blog]

The Dark Crystal

So I know this series is called Hidden Spirituality but as many of you in the comments have pointed out… At some point we have to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that especially with some of these movies, we really ought to name it “Obvious Spirituality”, and the Dark Crystal is definitely one of those kinds of films.

Also - let it be known that this episode will specifically be exploring the original film of The Dark Crystal, we are not going to be getting into the Netflix Prequel Series at this time, although I’m certain that it would make for some great content. And to that end, Spoiler Warning, but you knew that already, didn’t you?

So in essence, The Dark Crystal is basically an hour and a half long magical adventure through a world of mysticism, alchemy, and astrology - in a world entirely different from our own, and yet a beautiful reflection of our own inner consciousness.

The story begins by describing that a thousand years ago, there was planetary conjunction that brought about great change. The narrator describes that the great Crystal cracked, and a single shard was lost, creating chaos. This is a spiritual reference to our own collective consciousness and our relationship with the eternal oneness, in the sense that we ourselves have been disconnected from the greater whole. It also seems to be subtly relating to the fall of Lucifer or the idea of a fallen consciousness. In the Bible, Lucifer was said to fall from heaven, becoming separate from the Oneness and creating evil in the world. It is when the great crystal cracks and the shard is separated, that the Oneness becomes fragmented, and two races appear, the Skeksis, and the Urru, but the film simply refers to them as Mystics.

When this happened, the evil Skeksis took control of the crystal castle, and this is also related to us today in that there are those in power today who wield it for evil or selfish purposes, which is the nature of the Skeksis. We also hear the line that the Crystal hangs above a chasm of Air and Fire, both of which are alchemical forces relating to spiritual and mental energy, there is no water or emotional energy where the Skeksis are. There are - however, Sacred Geometry and other Alchemy symbols all over the crystal castle.

Now, it is only at the end it is revealed that the Skeksis and Mystics were originally one species, the UrSkek, these wise alien superbeings, who created a symbiotic relationship with the crystal, but that in their arrogance they unwittingly caused the crystal to crack, splitting themselves into two lesser states, the Skeksis, and the Mystics.

This is a Qabalistic lesson in the Tree of Life too - for the Urskek represent the path of harmony, aligned in the middle of the tree, and who made a mistake on the journey, causing them to polarize to an extreme on the left and right-hand path. The path of severity, and the path of mercy.

The Skeksis become the path of severity, being cruel, intense, sharp, and violent. The Mystics become the path of Mercy, who lives in a dream of natural peace, rehearsing the old rituals with forgetfulness, and the ancient wisdom is almost lost.

Another way of looking at these races, however, is as two aspects of our selves. The Skeksis are our lower self, the survival-based fear-driven mentality that compels us to act in selfish and cruel ways to one another, where the mystics are our higher selves, but who are often so gentle and soft that it’s nearly impossible to hear or understand what’s really going on with them. Thus, when they are harmonized as the UrSkek, they describe a unified being, the higher and lower selves united in the heart.

However, we must also acknowledge then that since they are two sides of the greater whole, there are qualities of Skeksis that are not actually bad. Qualities like sharpness, passionate intensity, or generally being opportunists, are qualities that do value in the world, such as mental sharpness, or passionately being engaged in something meaningful - however, the challenge with the Skeksis is that these qualities are all paired with cruelty.

And likewise with the Mystics, while we look at them as the good guys, and certainly, they are - they are slow and forgetful, they don’t care much for anything other than just doing their old rituals even though they have mostly forgotten them. There’s a beautiful lesson here is that Truth and Wisdom come when the darkness and the light dissolve into One.

Now, The Dark Crystal also speaks to us in another way, reminding us of our place in the world and society right now, in that we are in a time of great change. The narrator explains at the beginning that the time of testing has come, for it is time for the world to heal, or to pass into a neverending realm of darkness. This is explored by the nature of prophecy, and how prophecy comes about at all.

You see, the Dark Crystal explores the idea that the astrological movements of the celestial bodies have an energetic effect on the world, just as we today understand that the gravity of the moon has an effect on our emotional states. The Dark Crystal explains that by understanding the movements of the celestial bodies, they could see patterns and cycles that reflect events that take place on the planet, and that a thousand years ago there was a conjunction of the 3 suns, and that when it happened again in another thousand years, we would either pass into a time of healing or neverending darkness, depending on the outcome of the events.

We see this elaborated further by Aughra, who explains that the conjunction simply means a time of change, sometimes things get better, sometimes things get worse. It’s not that the Astrology determines these things, simply that it is a reflection of the times of transformation, cycles, and these changes happen in the microcosm as well. Aughra says that it’s the end of the world, or the beginning, end, and beginning - same thing. I swear, she was probably this close to saying “As Above, So Below” before the beetle-borg rush in...  That’s what they’re called, right?

Now, on another level, this movie is just riddled with truth bombs in just the best way, and sometimes these lines are so fast that you only catch them if you’re already attentively aware of what’s going on. For example, when Jen first meets Aughra, she asks “ “Who sent you?” “My master” “where is he? Somewhere around here?” “he’s dead” “Hm could be anywhere then”.

Honestly, it’s such a funny line, yet it really aligns with so many ancient wisdom teachings that say when we die, our consciousness, the energy of our being merges with everything, and can move freely throughout existence.

But the best, deepest truth bomb in this movie, and honestly is in the running for the deepest truth bomb in ANY movie EVER- is this one!

*Oming at their face scene*

Maybe laugh about it.  

Now, of course, this movie revolves around the characters Jen and Kira, who go on the adventure to restore the shard to the dark crystal. We discover that when they touch, they engage in a telepathic connection of sharing their memories, which they call dream fasting. While their experience was very intense and visual, we do see this happening in subtle ways on earth, when two people who share a deep soul connection meet - they feel as though they have known each other all their lives, or have this deep intuitive and seemingly psychic connection with each other.

Now, throughout the film, there’s a bunch of adventure and drama and what have you but lets a laser in on the ending for a moment. Jen restores the crystal, and the mystics and skeksis merge together. However, Kira has been killed in the process, and as she lay there fallen in Jen's arms, we have yet another deep and profound truth-bomb.

The newly restored Urkeks say to Jen: Hold her too you, she is part of you as we are all apart of each other. BOOM! I mean, does that even need elaboration? Well, in case it does - scientifically today we actually can identify that all of us are apart of the same quantum energy field that makes up all things and that our energy is intimately intertwined and connected, and at this energetic level, there is no separation between us, even if we feel that there is. Further, this scene demonstrates the power of love to create and build those connections, because it is through the wisdom of the Urskeks and the Love of Jen that restores Kira to live.

Finally, our last truth bomb - The urskeks leave us with the restored Crystal of Truth, and remind us clearly, to make your world in its light. This is a powerful lesson and reminder for us all, that we must learn to embody the light of truth and to make the world with the wisdom we gain from its glory.

#spirituality #science #ascension #mystery school #spirit scien

[writingjourney]

Left Behind (Steve Rogers x reader)

This is set post Endgame!! Spoilers!!

Summary: After the war is over, you have something important to tell Steve... but should you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader

A/N: Here’s the new Steve imagine - curtesy of a sweet anon who had the idea! :) I hope it’s as expected! 

Also, can I just add that Chris Evans’ face is the most beautiful thing on this planet?

Word count: 2.272

(Y/N) = your name

Warnings: Endgame Spoilers!!!, a lot of angst, a bit of fluff at the end, pregnancy

Tagging: @wayward-timetravel-collecter , @shannon124 , @kllr-queen , @causeimhappinesss :)

(Masterlist)

„So, this is your auntie Nat,“ you mumbled, looking at a photograph of your friend. It showed her with a rare smile, way before the war against Thanos. „She was one of our best fighters, a true heroine, and she was the only one who knew about you before the battle. She loved you very much, even then, even though you had just come to exist. I miss her a lot.“

You put the picture away, looking at the next one. „And this is your uncle Tony,“ you continued, running your finger over Tony who stood in his lab, parts of his suit next to him and a smug grin on his face. „He didn’t know you existed, when he died, but he would have loved you no doubt. You will know his daughter and perhaps you will become friends one day.“

Again, you put the picture on the pile next to you, now looking at the last one in your hand. „Well, and this is your daddy… and me, in happier times,“ you explained, your voice cracking. In the picture you were in Steve’s arms, he looked at you with love in his eyes while you grinned at the camera. It all seemed genuine, but you weren’t sure now. „He was the best man I ever knew and even though you won’t ever know him and he won’t know anything about you, I’m sure you will feel his love every day. I hope he is happy where he is now.“ A tear rolled down your cheek. „I really do.“

You ran your hand over your by now quite prominent baby bump. Your child couldn’t hear you talk, but even now, you felt the need to make sure that your friends and Steve would never be forgotten. It was your duty, wasn’t it? The loss was still fresh, and would probably always stay with you. The world was still spinning, everyone continued like before, but you just couldn’t move on.

When you had packed the pictures away, you laid down to sleep. It was an uneasy night, memories and strange dreams were flooding your mind and you couldn’t stop them.

* * *

The War was over. For the second time. And you could say that your side won.

But that came at a cost.

You had lost two of your best friends - Tony and Natascha. But you had also lost your boyfriend Steve, if not in the same way. Ever since the whole time travel thing came up, you saw him looking at his little compass with the picture of Peggy more often. He was absent, distant. During the battle, these things had been forgotten, but now that everything was over, you knew that it would catch up with you again. You knew Steve still loved Peggy and going back to her was within reach for him now. The Quantum Realm offered him the possibility of living the life he had missed out on. He stood at a crossroad - a life with you or the life had thought lost.

But that wasn’t the only problem, unfortunately.

You had something to tell Steve and you had no idea how and even if you should tell him. You didn’t want him to make his choice out of duty - you wanted him to make his choice out of love.

It was when he said he would bring back the Infinity Stones, all on his own, that you knew he had made the choice… and not in your favor.

You stood by Sam and Bucky, ready to say goodbye but also not ready at all. Steve hadn’t said a thing, you could tell that he was avoiding you and that, maybe until now, he hadn’t consciously decided yet. When he hugged you goodbye, kissing you briefly, you could see that he was unsure what he was doing. Maybe there was still hope? You clung to this thought.

„Okay, let’s go,“ Banner said and then Steve vanished.

You stood there waiting. The five seconds felt like forever and you subconsciously put your hand on your abdomen. Please come back… please. We need you.

The five seconds passed and he didn’t reappear. You stood there, paralyzed and in utter disbelief, despite the fact that you had anticipated this. Sam and Bucky asked what was going on, but you knew it exactly. A single tear rolled down your cheek when Sam and Bucky came over to you and said everything would be fine. Banner was still looking at his devices.

You shook your head at them. „He has decided,“ you said and gave a weak smile. „Against us.“

„What?“ Sam asked. „What’s going on?“

Bucky looked down to your hand and then back up, realization evident on his face. „He left…“

„(Y/N)?“ Sam asked. „Are you…?“

„I’m pregnant,“ you said with a nod and then the tears flowed freely.

* * *

Routinely, you went back to the platform that was used to get into the Quantum Realm. Some people, mostly Banner, Lang and Pym, were still developing it further. You watched them, some days, but on others it reminded you too much of what you had lost.

Nothing provided you with comfort. You had lost your best friend, you had lost the love of your life, and even though everyone treated you kindly and tried to distract you, all you could think about was the task ahead - raising your child without Steve.

At first, you had been mad at him. How could he just leave you alone? Hurt you like this? But it struck you that you couldn’t blame him for choosing to live with the love of his life. The realization that your love for him had not been reciprocated equally told you that it was for the best. You would have lived with him every day, while his thoughts would have been with Peggy, and being the second choice was worse than this.

It just hurt you for your baby that would now have to live without its father. That in itself wasn’t what troubled you, babies could do well without one, but how could you ever explain where Steve was? That he had chosen to travel back in time to live with another woman instead of you? That you had never had the courage to tell him that he was a father?

You were sure Steve would have stayed had he known about your pregnancy, which was what you had wanted to avoid. Now, you weren’t sure anymore. Your baby would never know Steve. Had that been selfish? Would you even be a good mother with all this grief inside of you?

„Hey,“ you heard a voice from behind then. It was Bucky.

„Hey,“ you replied, still a bit lost in your thoughts.

He gave you a rare smile. „How are you holding up?“

„I’m okay,“ was your vague reply. Bucky and you had always got along well. Now that Steve was gone, you were the ones left behind and it was evident that you were both hurt. „And you?“

Bucky nodded. „I’m alright… Listen, I’ve been meaning to tell you… if you ever need help, let me know.“

„Thank you, Bucky.“

It was then that something behind you captured your attention. Banner was running around, the machine made a weird sound. A few seconds later, a figure appeared on the platform.

You couldn’t believe your eyes when you recognized it as Steve. Confusion spread out around you - you looked at Bucky and saw the disbelief in his eyes as well. But was that even your Steve? By now, nothing really made sense anymore.

„Steve?“ Bucky asked and immediately drew attention to you.

From the recognition on his face and the lack of confusion, you gathered that this really was your Steve. The look on his face changed soon, once he saw you and he immediately left the platform.

„Hey, wait! Something must have gone wrong, I need to check-“ Banner called after him and then just continued mumbling. „How could he have been gone for so long?“

Steve ignored him as he walked over to you and Bucky. You were overwhelmed with the situation and immediately covered your belly with your hands, as though you had to protect your child. Steve stopped a few steps in front of you and the look in his eyes nearly broke your heart. They showed sadness and regret and pain, a look you always hated to see on him but that you had seen often over the last few years.

„(Y/N),“ he mumbled.

In that moment, anger flared up inside of you, even though you should have been glad to see him. „What the hell, Steve?“ you asked. You couldn’t fathom what was going on. Had he just come back after being gone for months? Spent time with Peggy but then thought he could come back and everything would continue as before?

„Man, where have you been?“ Bucky asked next to you.

Steve looked at his best friend. „I’m so sorry, I-“

„Damn, Steve,“ you said and tears welled up in your eyes. „What did you even think?“

„(Y/N), please let me explain…“

„I’ll leave you to it, but don’t think we won’t talk about this,“ Bucky said, shaking his head at Steve, and then went to check in with Banner.

You couldn’t have this conversation now, you decided. Your body was shaking and you felt like you couldn’t breathe, so you turned around to get some air. Steve called after you and as soon as you stood outside, he motioned you over to a bench to sit on.

„Are you okay?“ he asked.

You wanted to snap at him but you just nodded and took a few more deep breaths. It was not good for your baby if you were upset and agitated, but damn this was a state of exception.

„Why didn’t you tell me?“ Steve asked then. „If I’d known…“

„Then you wouldn’t have left me?“ you shot back. „Do you really think I’d want you to stay with me just because I was pregnant? While you were actually dying to be with another woman?“

Steve gulped. „(Y/N), listen… I didn’t know what to do.“

„You left me, Steve, without even saying goodbye or explaining why,“ you said, your voice quivering. „You left me alone with all this grief and pain. I thought I would never see you again.“

„And I regret it so deeply. I was an idiot… and a coward.“ He paused to look at you. It was torture to look into his handsome face. Eventually he continued. „I just had to do it, I had to go back.“

„Then why didn’t you stay? Did Peggy turn you down?“ It came out far sharper than intended.

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath. „I get that you’re hurt, but hear me out. I didn’t cheat on you or anything, (Y/N), that was never my intention,“ he explained. „I went to see Peggy and we had a long talk. I explained a few things, we had that dance that I owed her, but that was it. As I stood there with her in a time that I once thought was home… I realized that I could never live without you. Or Bucky. Or the rest. I’m not the man I was back then. So, I told Peggy where to find me. Well… the me in her time. So in a sense, another me gets that life, a me that doesn’t know you.“

„You could have told me, Steve,“ you said, shaking your head. „Why didn’t you trust me?“

He hesitated. „I… I didn’t want to hurt you. I was unsure what to do… and thought I would have some more time to figure it out. I realized that my place is here, but when I wanted to get back, something went wrong. I never realized that so much time had passed here until I saw you.“

You took a deep breath and took in your surroundings. It was quiet, you felt a cool breeze on your skin and heard the birds singing somewhere above you. This was all real. The tension in your body lessened and you sat there, both quiet for a few minutes.

„I should have told you about the baby, you had a right to know,“ you said.

„It’s okay,“ Steve said.

You looked at him and he still wore that sad expression. Your anger had subsided and you started to realize that him being here meant that he had chosen you. Even without knowing of the baby. He had come back…

Gently, you brought a hand up to his face and he leaned into your touch, as if he needed it. God had you missed him. All these months had passed, but you still loved him with all your heart.

„Can you forgive me?“ he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

You nodded and moved in closer, closing the gap between you to kiss him. Steve was gentle with you, but you could still feel the relief resonating in his kiss. In that moment, the baby started kicking, as if it knew, and you broke away. Steve looked at you questioningly and you just took his hand and placed it on your belly.

Steve smiled at you, fascinated. „This is our child.“

„It is,“ you said, returning the smile, suddenly feeling an overwhelming happiness. „And now that you missed half of the pregnancy, I get to choose the middle name.“

„That’s unfai-“

„Natascha or Tony,“ you interrupted, before he could speak.

Steve nodded, smiling. „I like that.“

#Steve Rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #avengers x reader #post endgame #post endgame fic #endgame spoilers #captain america #captain america imagine #steve rogers imagine #avengers imagine

[thenugking]

Grand Academy For Future Villains, Chapter 1: Introduction. A commentary for Three.

Because no one can stop me.

Here’s the important decisions, and other things it feels relevant to comment on, from Three’s playthrough. Contains spoilers for GAFFV, obviously, and there’s a few references to the sequel, although nothing I’d really call a spoiler. All game text is copied from the text files, found here.

General CW for the whole thing: parental abuse, internalised dehumanisation as a trauma response. Three’s not doing well.

Specific CW for this chapter: misgendering, transphobia

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9

***

Rathna hisses with satisfaction, takes you by the wrist, and pulls you after her through the archway into the blackness.

It feels a bit like doing a belly flop into a pool of cold mercury. (And you would know; the exercise facilities back home were very well-appointed.) When the ringing clears from your ears and the fuzziness from your eyes, you're standing in a subterranean chamber. The walls are dripping. The lights are flickering. The screams are echoing.

An icy voice echoes in your head, making your ears sting. "Prepare yourself…to be screened."

"Oh, I am prepared," you assure Rathna the Soul-Flenser. "I trust the Academy! And if they say I need additional screening, I'm sure that's something that really is necessary for everybody's safety!"

How would you classify the expression in her dull metallic eyes? Quizzical? Startled? Pitying?

"Your faith," hisses the cold voice after a moment, "is… touching to me."

"Speaking of touching," you say cheerfully, "we'd better get to the screening part, right? The sooner I get screened, the sooner I can be reconstituted by, who is it, the fourth-year Resurrections class?"

There is a long pause. "No..." Rathna says. "You have passed the screening already. You are a true student of the Academy."

Nonplussed, you head up the stairs in the direction she indicates. As you glance back, you could swear she's wiping away one dishwater-gray tear.

Three’s entire introduction is them being a Good Student - it doesn’t even occur to them not to wait in line, or to try hiding their many, many weapons, or to try and get out of additional screening. They pick Rathna because they’re pretty sure Phil will mess it up and not screen them properly, which means they’re messing up too. 

Phil, in Three’s opinion, clearly has zero discipline or competence, and they dislike him instantly. With his utter lack of commitment to the screening process, he’s off to a great start as Perfect Student Three’s unintentional narrative foil.

Rathna, on the other hand, they develop a mutual respect for in this scene. They don’t interact again in-game, and aren’t going to go out of their way to hang out with each other, but I like to think they get along well whenever they do see each other, and are at least friendly acquaintances. (I was very offended when the second game told me Rathna was my enemy, but I like Miriel Bloodshrike, because neither of these things are remotely true for Three.)

VERY WELL, THREE. BUT I KNEW YOUR MOTHER ONCE. AND SHE GAVE YOU ANOTHER NAME. YOU WILL BE THREE AT THIS SCHOOL, BUT TO MAEDRYN THE QUANTUM-WITCH, ONE OF OUR PROUDEST ALUMNAE, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE...

It's true. Your mother named you

#3.

Hardly a name at all.

I mean, Three’s life revolves around keeping their mother happy. They’re not going to throw away the name she gave them. They only changed it from the number to the word because of the massive bureaucratic hassle that trying to input your whole name as 3 was. And what would they change it to anyway? It’s not as if they have an identity outside of Maedryn, is it?

(This does, of course, result in a lot of funny experiences in-game, where people try and psych me out by knowing my birth name and Three’s just, “Yes, that is my name, are you feeling all right?” It’s not impossible that these still take place, even with Three using their mother’s name; in the very next scene, Xi reveals they can hear how people spell things. I’m sure there are some people in the Academy who would deliberately say 3, rather than Three, and hope that Three hears the insult. They don’t.)

As for gender… I think Three at this point still mostly identifies as female. They come out as agender part way through their first year, feeling more confident after meeting a lot of non-binary people at the Academy. They don’t tell their mum. While I’m glad that the game doesn’t have Maedryn misgender you, the fact that she consistently deadnames you and gets angry at you changing “her” body if you become a monster makes me feel it would be very in character for her to do. I’m sure she hears Three is using they/them pronouns now at some point, but has better things to do than remembering to use them.

If asked about their pronouns, Three will tell you that you are welcome to call them whatever you wish, and their closest associates usually use they/them. Expressing their own preference would be far too close to acting like a person with their own desires and feelings, though. Luckily they can easily justify being agender as, “What does a weapon need a gender for?”

“Let's get to know you, Three. What do you hate most?"

 #Incompetence and idiocy.

And right now, Phil’s incompetence and idiocy in particular. Three is already up to 75% competence at this point, by the way.

Well, that's your mother. How do you feel about her?

#I'm proud to be her child. But I plan on choosing my own path- while keeping her as happy as I can.

The actual answer here is a lot more complicated. Three certainly doesn’t plan on choosing their own path, they exist only as a tool of their mother’s and are well aware that being anything more would not make her happy. They think Maedryn’s achievements are incredible and that she’s the cleverest person they know. They think they might be proud of her, if not of themself. They love her.

They’re also far more aware than they let on that she’s abusing them, and that they’re never going to get the love and approval that a part of them buried deep down still wants. While they absolutely keep it to themself, they dislike the way Maedryn’s destroyed worlds that could have had so much to offer, and believe she should treat her goons and servants (themself excluded) better.

And they have no intention of ever letting her know they've ever thought anything negative about her, because they value their life too much.

"Excuse me. I'm Three, and I-how did you do that? What were those wires, and all that stuff you were saying about humanity?"

"Nice, isn't it?" says Xi with pardonable pride. "Like I told you, I'm the ultimate fusion of human and computer. Instead of veins-" their voice is suddenly coming out of the speakers again "-wires course the length of my body, running directly from my mind to the Network."

"Oh! Computers!" the other student breaks in. "Whyever would you want to be all tangled up with those...things?"

Xi narrows their metallic eyes contemptuously at him. "I'm a cyberpunk villain. It's what we do. Wait- who are you again?"

The student draws himself up proudly. "Aurion Umbrator Malisar, Scourge of the Universe, Bane of Virtue, Shadow that Swallows the Light, and I-"

Xi sniffs. A shower of sparks falls from one of the wires. "This is the first time you've ventured outside your genre, isn't it? Let me guess, spawned in Fantasy, and now you're here expecting everything to be the same magic and mush you grew up with?"

"Well, that would explain things," Xi continues. "Trust me, pitiful lump of flesh, computers are the way to go. Why, the true power in this school, DarkBoard--no matter what any other genre says--is an artificial intelligence, one who has truly ascended beyond the tether of matter and mind-"

"That's the problem!" Aurion protests, waving his schedule again. "It will not heed my bidding!"

"Well, of course not, if you're talking to Them like that." You can hear the reverence in Xi's voice when they speak of DarkBoard. Odd, since as far as you can tell, the Grand Academy's administrative AI is basically a glorified secretary.

And Three gets to meet their best friends! They’ve been given permission to ask questions about something very cool! Even if they would never be caught using the phrase, “All that stuff,” and would much prefer a, “Would you elaborate further on your state of being, please?”

This also forms the very early seeds of their friendship with DarkBoard. They believe everyone deserves respect, and they know how easy it is to underestimate someone as being a tool. The majority of their previous knowledge on DarkBoard came from Maedryn, who they also know underestimates people she considers below her notice, so they’re very willing to take Xi’s opinion on DarkBoard over Maedryn’s. And if Xi calls DarkBoard a They, rather than an It, They is what Three will use too, because secretary or not, it’s only polite.

Xi sighs. "You've got to organize yourself, pitiful lump of- Aurion. Make some choices. Look. What do you want to do?"

"Have legions of darkness, take over the universe, slay the proud and noble, bring about a black reign of terror on the land, cast evil spells from my fortress, shoot out wires from my hand like that, seduce the pure and innocent, callously waste human life, destroy the world with a word, blow things up, have great men fall before the slightest motion of my hand, manipulate people's minds, be able to call up balls of fire, beat up the heroes, have Ultimate Weapons of Destruction, and wear a nifty cape!" rattles off the aspiring Scourge of the Universe breathlessly. "And more things, too, if they teach them."

Xi looks as if the student's enthusiasm has overloaded their circuits. You step in.

#Tell Xi I'll help Aurion with his schedule. That should earn me some points with the RA.

I mean, if Three had circuits, they’d be overloaded by Aurion’s enthusiasm too, but if there are two things they like, it’s sorting out schedules and making people in positions of authority happy! This encounter doesn’t make Three and Aurion friends, that comes later, but they gain a small amount of respect for each other, at least.

Sidenote - I’m not sure how close Aurion and Xi are supposed to be, they don’t interact much after this in-game, but I love their interactions here, and I really enjoy Three, Aurion and Xi as a group of friends.

#Better get Xi to advise me on this. Isn't assistance in their job description?

You stick your head out into the hall. "Xi? Can you help me with something?"

After a moment, Xi appears, expressionless.

"I need to get my books," you explain, "so I need to access my money. Can you tell me how to make DarkBoard do that?"

One of Xi's wires cracks like a whip. You hope that means yes.

Three might value self-sufficiency, but they also value making use of the resources available to you, and when someone’s job is to provide you with help, it would be arrogant and foolish to rely solely on your own conjecture.

They are also an eighteen year old who’s never spent much time with people their own age suddenly discovering that they find cyborgs in control of wires they grow out of their fingers really hot.

#Get a quick fund refreshment from Mom.

It won't make your mother happy to have you draft her account like this--she prefers more face-to-face groveling, as you've had plenty of chances to observe--but you know that you can make a quick transfer from the Student Security Deposit. A few words to DarkBoard, and the money is yours, with a little extra cushion to cover you in case of emergencies.

I mean, Three’s definitely going to call Maedryn up for a proper groveling session later tonight, and hope that helps a little. But she’s also expecting them to get perfect grades, and they’re worried about their chances of doing that without all the equipment available. Anyway, that’s their first day at the Academy finished!

#grand academy for future villains #choice of games #three #long post #u know what i'm gonna tag the other characters bc i love them #maedryn #aurion umbrator malisar #xi #darkboard #gavril philippe des anges dechus #marsh ocs