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ssscentral · 3 years

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Devil like you

Summary: Your boyfriend has a revelation about who - or what - he really is as he invites over a friend to have some earth-shattering, toe-curling, out of this world fun with you.

Pairing : Demon!Namjoon x Reader x Demon! Jimin

Genre : Smut. Pure filth. It be dirty.

Warnings : Threesome, Demon summoning, Overstimulation, Swearing, Restraints, Surprise your boyfriend is a demon, Dom!Namjoon, Dom!Jimin, Sub!Reader, Light Edging, Dirty Talking, Oral Sex (f and m), Fingering

WC : 5.5k

Member : Duda || @biaswreckme

A/N : Hope you enjoy reading this, i’m quite proud of it :v It’s my first AU for BTS, so be gentle T.T This fic is the second part of the group prompt “Hell of a Ride”, each part with our own interpretation, so stay tuned because there is more to come! Any similarities with Supernatural are not coincidental, thank you Spn wikis for the words in Latin and the inspiration for some of the abilities of these demons. And thanks so much @fluffy-fluffu for being the beta ♥

taglist: @sugasbabiie

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You thought you should have known. You thought you should have seen the signs – and there were quite a few, thinking back on your relationship. It should not have surprised you like this. It should not have affected you like this. It should not make you wish for more, waiting for the next time it would happen. It should not… you should not… you should not want this as much as you did, right?

You should have seen it coming. It should not have caught you off guard like that, after all, who teaches this language with this much ease and what seems like almost natural and native knowledge? That should have been the first sign to strike your attention. He was not the first Latin professor in the language department at this university, but he was the best. But this department has a lot of languages, and Latin is part of the curriculum for some of the other languages. It was not weird to have a Latin professor. It was weird to have someone as hot as Namjoon teaching Latin. Hot, gods, you sound like a teenager again talking about boys and crushes. But yes, Kim Namjoon, one of the hottest teachers in the university – and it is a big one – teaches a dead language.

So when he asked you, the English teacher – not the only one in the department and you did not consider yourself to be one of the best-looking teachers there – out on a date, you said yes. It had been a while for you, issues with an ex left you being cautious about entering new relationships. It made you pay more attention to certain red flags, but there were none with Namjoon, at least not like those from before.

Kim Namjoon was considerate. Kim Namjoon was creative with his dates. Kim Namjoon was a romantic man, one that had you indeed feeling like a teenager dating for the first time, sneaking around the empty halls and classrooms, the butterflies in your stomach wild and making you giggle at the mere thought of him. Kim Namjoon paid attention to you and your problems. Kim Namjoon listened. And Kim Namjoon was great when it came to sex. Great actually did not really translate how incredible and mind-blowing sex with him was. He knew how to do things to your body like no one ever could before. He suggested some things – some kinky, oh, very kinky things indeed – to spice up the sex that you had only fantasized about but never had the courage to ask for, and he did not judge anything. It was almost as if his mission in bed was to give you utmost pleasure, even if it hurt sometimes – but it always hurt so good. Kim Namjoon was the perfect boyfriend. Maybe too perfect, so you think to yourself that you had ought to know better. No one could be this perfect. There had to be an explanation. And there was. You just never would have imagined that it would be this explanation.

The day had started just like any other, there was nothing special about it, at least to your knowledge. So why, oh, why did it have to be on this day? (Maybe you could ask them later.) You woke up to your alarm, as usual. You love your job, but you always found it difficult to get up this early in the mornings, so you always made sure to set more than one alarm. You got up, had breakfast – “breakfast” is a very general word, but you do eat a piece of toast while the coffee machine warms up. You had a shower, just a quick one to truly wake you up and get you going before getting dressed in your usual teaching outfit. Namjoon would be coming over later, so you would have time to shower again and get dressed up for date night after getting back from the university. You grab a travel mug on the way out, pouring the hot coffee in it, the smell invading your apartment just as you like it.

The classes go on without any issue; a slight problem with the projector in the beginning but nothing out of the ordinary and that would strike one’s attention, especially if one was used to dealing with the projectors in that older building the languages and literature department was stuck with. You crossed paths with Namjoon once the entire day, walking down the hallways of the old building; you were getting out of an English literature class, Joon going to teach his Latin II group. As your bodies got closer, both of you nodded in acknowledgment as if you were any other professor, but your hands discreetly touched in passing, just a small sign you had agreed on to let the other know everything is okay, have a good class, I love you, I will be waiting for you later. You knew he was going out on a field trip with an advanced class and he would have to leave during lunch, so you ate a sandwich in your office, watching some comedy series to relax and get energized for the rest of the day – of course, the hot and new cup of coffee helps -, every once in a while, pausing to chat with the other professor who chose to do something similar. The afternoon is not really that different from other Friday afternoons; no one usually comes during office hours, so no one came on this day. You spent your time alternating between counting the minutes on the ticking clock to be able to go home and get ready for the date and responding to some emails, starting the term report, and downloading some articles to read. You were alone in the office, so you have some music going to help distract you and try to make the time go by faster.

When you finally got home the first thing you did was hop on the shower again, but now taking some time for yourself, phone blasting your favorite songs as you washed the day away from your body, cleaning, shaving what you wanted, moisturizing with some shower oils Namjoon gave you and that you know he loved the scent of. You spent some time choosing your outfit for the evening, knowing it had to be good. You opted for a white lace and silk playsuit, the new lingerie that Namjoon had recently given you, and you knew it had to be expensive from the brand – expensive and fancy lingerie was a guilty pleasure you had that somehow Namjoon was able to indulge, and you had no complaints about it. It gave you an almost innocent look under the black dress, and you were curious to see Namjoon’s reaction. You did not do much for hair and makeup, choosing instead to keep it quite simple and natural – it was only going to be ruined later on anyways.

Soon you heard the bell ring and you looked at the small monitor near the door, letting him in. His hair was slicked back, giving him an edge that was not present in day-to-day life at university. He had his earrings on and paired up with his silver-rimmed glasses and that black blazer made him look unbelievably hot and so different from the pristine almost clumsy-like image of Professor Kim. He kissed you, murmuring a hi in the kiss, letting his hands roam over your dress. He paused and stepped back enough to look at you.

“Are you wearing the new gift?”

It only took a nod from you to have him pressing you against the wall, hitching your leg up and around his waist. His hands took advantage of the position and touched your skin, going up your thighs and bunching up your dress in the way, giving him access to feel the lace and silk on your body.

“Fuck,” he paused, almost breathless, “fuck the reservation, right? I need you now.”

You nodded in affirmation, almost as out of breath as him, “Fuck the reservation, fuck me instead.”

He didn’t need anything else to press you even harder against the wall, hoisting both of your legs; you wrapped them around his body, and he pushed his hips into yours, you could feel how hard he already was. You moaned into the kiss, his hardness was right against where you needed it the most, and when he started slightly moving his hips into yours, it made his length deliciously drag against your clit. The feeling was also enhanced by the lingerie; every time Namjoon canted his hips up, it made the lingerie move up together and tug on your skin, and it did not take long until it was snugged between your nether lips and you were certain you were staining the front of Namjoon’s pants with your wetness as he started nibbling on your earlobe, sucking and kissing your neck, the skin caught between his teeth to make sure it would leave bruises. And then he let you go, dropping your legs from around his body.

“Do you trust me?” He looked into your eyes, seeming unsure, which was unlike him. You could swear that his eyes got darker for a brief moment – and not in the way writers usually describe, with eyes darkening with pleasure or something akin to that. No, it seemed that they physically turned darker, almost black, but you thought you must be imagining things. It could not be humanly possible.

“I trust you, Joon.” You said without any hesitation, fingers entangling with his and taking him in the direction of your bedroom.

He started by taking off his glasses and carefully putting them on the wooden nightstand, taking a minute to take off his blazer and carefully drape it over the piece of furniture. He then turned to you and you felt nervous, his walk almost predatory towards you. He gripped your shoulders, taking the straps of your dress into his hands, and it felt like he was considering just ripping the piece out of your body and your breath faltered. So this was the mood today. But he must have thought better and let his hands caress the front of your body, squeezing your breasts, his fingers then gliding over your clothed nipples, feeling them harder under his touch. His hands moved down, grabbing the edge of your dress in his fists and then lifted it up and off your body, and then you were there, standing in front of him, the white lace and silk that covered your skin seemed almost virginal when contrasted with the current mood. You bit your lip, looking at Namjoon, gaging his reaction, and you saw his eyes widen, a smirk crossing his lips, his tongue unconsciously poking out to lick his top lip. There was a different look in his eyes, one that you did not recognize at all, and you were getting slightly more nervous now. What did he have in store for you this time? You tried to think back to conversations you had, discussing ideas in between cuddles and kisses on the bed, after one of the times you had some passionate lovemaking, his eyes glued to yours the entire time, his body encompassing yours, protecting you. Not every time was kinky, but there was no doubt tonight was going to be. You took a deep breath and stepped forward, your fingers going to the buttons of his shirt, undoing them one by one, slowly, your fingers shaking in anticipation.

“Remember when we were talking about maybe having another person in the bedroom with us?”

His question took you by surprise, your fingers stopping mid-action, and you looked at him. “Yes?”

“You are going to learn some things about me tonight, Y/n, but you don’t need to be scared.” He grabbed your hands, intertwining your fingers and kissing them while looking into your eyes. “I promise everything will be okay, and I’ll answer all your questions later. Now I just want you to enjoy yourself.”

And ok, now you were worried, and he could see that in your face, so he brought you closer to his body, hugging you, and your arms tightened around his body.

“You don’t have to be scared, love. It can be scary, but have I ever hurt you?”

“Well…” you started, giggling at the double possibilities to answer his question.

“I’m talking about real harm, Y/n. And might I remind you, who asked to be spanked again?” He chuckled, shaking his head, the mood getting a little lighter. “I can’t promise it’s not going to frighten you at first but keep an open mind. You have your safeword, you can stop this at any time, no matter what.”

“Ok. I can’t promise I won’t fear whatever it is… because you are scaring me a little bit, Joon. But I trust you. I know you won’t hurt me like that.” You raised your head from where it was resting on his chest, looking into his eyes again, and this time you could not be mistaken. They were black. Like black black; you could not see any of the previous colors in his irises, even the sclera was taken over by the color, and it hit you. You took a quick step back, letting go of his body, shocked. Was… was this real?

“I’m still me,” his voice was soft and his hands raised by his sides in that universal sign of I’m not going to hurt you. “It’s always been me.”

“So you’re not… possessed?” you laughed in disbelief.

“No. It’s always been me,” he repeated, taking one step closer to you with one of his hands reaching out, and hesitantly you grabbed it. “Let me show you. I promise you will have a good time.”

Your body was still shaking with fear when you let yourself get closer to him, but his words were starting to reassure you, calm you. If he had always been like this and never harmed you, you would be okay, right? The fear and worry were slowly starting to give way to curiosity and some slight confusion when he started muttering some words under his breath. Now, you did not understand Latin – it was a dead language, come on –, but you were able to pick up that he was almost chanting in it, words like te invoco, spiritus, infernalis, and daemon being spoken with more intensity. He finished saying it and kissed you deeply, his arms encircling your body and pulling you to him, when you suddenly felt another presence behind you, a second body pressing against you, feeling a hard chest pressing you into Namjoon even more. You stopped the kiss, looking over your shoulder, and your eyes stumbled upon another black-eyed figure. This man, this demon, was shorter than Namjoon, but with the way the front of his body was glued to your back, you could feel he was just as muscular, maybe even more, from what you were feeling from his thighs. There were no words for his face. You thought Namjoon was handsome, but this man’s face was on a whole other level of beauty, with those rounded full lips that would give Namjoon’s a run for their money. If it were not for his black eyes you would dare say his face was angelic even, with his light-colored hair parted in the middle. But something about the smirk and raised eyebrows let you know that there was nothing angelic about him.

“Damn, Namjoon. You’ve been hiding her this entire time?” He almost growled, shifting his hips, and you felt the hardness in his pants. “If I’d known, I’d have come sooner.”

“And this is Jimin, Y/n,” he started, scoffing at his… friend? “Now close your eyes and let us take care of you.”

He did not wait for an answer from you, and at the same time his lips found yours, you felt Jimin’s lips on your neck and his hands on your waist, and you could only sigh, close your eyes, and give into these new sensations. The two pairs of hands were roaming your body; the contrast of their clothed bodies against yours, almost naked, was heightening the sensation of your powerlessness, and you had to press your thighs together in an attempt to bring some pressure to your center and relieve some of the aching. You could feel their smirks when you did it, and then Jimin’s hand traveled downwards and on the front of your body, his fingers sneaking under the lingerie to feel your wetness.

“Fuck,” his voice was almost strained, “she’s dripping, Namjoon.” His fingers went all over your mound spreading your wetness around, careful to not touch you for too long to tease you.

“Is this right, Y/n?” Namjoon asked against your lips, then tilted his head back to look at you, his hand joining Jimin’s. “I know you get wet for me, but if I had known you would be dripping like this, I would have brought Jimin much sooner.” He stated as his fingers toyed with the straps of your playsuit, slowly lowering them. “And you are wearing this, today of all days… all in white…”

Namjoon’s fingers teased your nipples lightly at first, just caressing them while Jimin slowly lowered the lingerie down your body, giving open-mouthed kisses to your back and lower and he went down on his knees behind you. You closed your eyes, letting your head fall back and grabbing Namjoon’s biceps for balance when Jimin lifted your left feet first then the right, letting the playsuit fall to the ground off your body. You felt a pinch to your nipples, and you sighed, and shortly after you felt his tongue circling it, then his mouth sucking on it, tugging lightly with his teeth. You clenched your legs again, only for Jimin to spread them. You felt Jimin’s breath on your backside, and his hands made you arch your back so he could see you better from behind, but you felt nothing else but his warm breath very close to your center, his hands gripping your thighs from the inside to stop you from closing them. When Namjoon used the fatal combination of pinching down on a nipple harder and biting the other and sucking on it, Jimin chuckled.

“Do that again, Namjoon. She liked it, she just clenched down on nothing so hard.” His mouth was so close to you yet doing nothing, and to worsen the situation, he used his hands to help you spread your legs more. “Tilt your ass towards me, Y/n, I want to see you clench like that again.”

You did so without hesitation, arching your back more so he could see you better, and when Namjoon did it again, inverting touch and bite to the other nipple, you clenched again, needing their touch, needing something. And he combined pulling your nipple with his teeth with his other hand entangling in your hair and pulling it down hard, increasing your arch. You heard Jimin chuckle softly again and then his mouth was pressed to your inner thigh, licking upwards as he moaned, probably tasting the wetness that had started dripping. Namjoon was not being gentle anymore, using the amount of pressure and strength he knew you loved, much rougher than when you were making love, your nipples becoming more sensitive and abused under his ministrations. This moment, with his lips around your nipples, his teeth worrying them, while Jimin licked your thighs, was pure and unadulterated passion and desire. You let one of your hands fall to grab Jimin’s hair to try and direct him, but he let one of your thighs go to wrap his fingers around your wrist while he bit down on your thigh. You moaned in pain, but you loved it.

Your other hand moved from Namjoon’s biceps to the front of his shirt to undo the few buttons that were left, and he paused what he was doing to help you. When you went to unbutton his pants, you felt your arm being pinned to your back by the demon between your legs. You looked back and down, seeing Jimin licking his lips again while he got up. He pulled you against his body, murmuring that tonight was about you and not to worry about them. As he said these words, Namjoon’s long fingers undid his own pants, hooking them under his underwear to take them off at the same time. His erection slapped softly against his stomach, his cock long and thick, the bulbous head already a little wet with precum. He stepped out of his pants, his strong thighs flexing, and he came closer to kiss you again, letting you feel his hardness against your belly. He started to pull you towards the bed, turning your bodies so you could fall against the mattress with him on top, but he did not stay long. He got up, looking at Jimin, and raised his eyebrows.

“You look so innocent like this, wide-eyed looking at us about to devour you,” Jimin started, unbuttoning his shirt slowly, putting on a show for you.

The dark shirt Jimin was wearing opened to reveal toned muscles beneath, ones you had already felt against your back. His light purple hair was slightly messy from your attempt to grab it; his lips were turned up into a corner smile observing the way you were watching him. He let his hands caress down his body, feeling his own muscles, his luscious lips open now. One of his hands went to the button of his pants and the other grabbed his crotch, showing you the outline of his erection, and then he took the black garment off, and he was wearing no underwear. His hand went to his erection again, stroking himself up and down slowly, showing you his body and how proud he seemed of it. His cock was just as beautiful as the rest of him, the head a light pink color, and while he was thinner than Namjoon, he was just as long and curved upwards, and it made you wonder if he could hit that spot without much effort.

“We are going to destroy you, and you will take it all. You will be lying there on the bed, ruined, a sinner, and in the end, you will be begging for me to come back again and wreck you.” Jimin’s voice was deeper, his black eyes shining under the lights and the promise. And then he looked at Namjoon. “Have you done it yet?”

You looked confused for a moment, especially when Namjoon answered a no and Jimin chuckled. And then you understood. Jimin snapped his fingers and your arms were suddenly above your head, pressed on the pillow. You tried moving them but to no avail. Oh. Your chest went up and down quickly, your breath faster, but you smiled.

“Oh, this is new. Can you do it too, Joon?” You needed to know. Had he been hiding this from you this whole time? He licked his lips and snapped his fingers, and then your legs were up, an invisible force holding them up and wide open, spread apart for them. You bit your lip and clenched down on nothing, moaning softly, your head thrown back into the pillow. “This is fun.”

You smiled at them and saw them looking at each other smiling as well, but you could not even imagine what was going through their minds. Could they communicate like that? You had so many questions to ask Joon later, but before your mind could wander any further, your body was being dragged to the edge of the bed by Jimin, who was kneeling on the floor in front of it. You had never felt so exposed before and so without control, although you knew all you had to say was that one word and everything would end.

“She tastes delicious, Jimin. You’re going to love it.” Namjoon sat by you on the bed, looking down at the other man, and lowered his head to whisper in your ear, “you want to know another thing I’ve been hiding? We don’t get tired.”

Namjoon bit your earlobe at the same time that Jimin licked you where you needed the most, from bottom to top. You could only moan loudly and arch your back, your fingers closing into tight a fist and your thighs clenching, but you could not move them. You thought he would make you beg for it, considering all the teasing from before, but he wasted no time and started applying pressure to your clit with his soft tongue, short circular movements alternated with longer licks while his fingers kept your lower lips spread open for him. Unable to move, all you could do was take it, the pleasure intensified by your inability to move your legs; there was no escape from Jimin’s tongue on the underside of your clit, its hood up, leaving it exposed and so sensitive to his probing. While Jimin was doing this, Namjoon began playing with your nipples again. They were already hard and a little red from before, more sensitive, so when he started pinching them again the pain seemed to go straight down to your clit, enhancing your pleasure, and he seemed to know this. He became relentless in teasing them, pinching harder, lowering his body beside you to bite at them, tugging on your nipples and pulling them, letting his teeth scrape against the sensitive skin. Jimin’s tongue was also relentless on your clit, and the first time he felt you getting close to your orgasm, he stopped and looked at you.

“Please, please…” you sobbed and moaned; the desperation clear in your voice as Namjoon did not stop.

“Should we see if she can cum only by teasing her nipples?” Jimin’s voice was playful.

“No, please, please, no, please,” you begged.

“Oh, Namjoon, she begs so beautifully. But is it a no or is it a please, do it?” His tongue was between his teeth, his smile wider now, the look on his face pure teasing. You shook your head negatively, a sob caught in your throat, but he continued, “You’re clenching again, Y/n. I think you can do this. But maybe another day,” you let out a sigh in relief, “another day, when we will tease you for hours, edge you until even our breath will make you cum, how about that?”

Jimin wasted no more time and got back to licking you, making out with your pussy, encompassing it entirely with his mouth, and the moment his lips closed around your clit to suck it, you lost it. It took you by surprise; the sensation usually begins with a slight tingle on your belly, and then it spreads to your fingers, but this time your whole body clenched as pleasure overtook you, his tongue continuing to press on your clit while he sucked to prolong your orgasm. You did not know what sounds came out of your mouth, as your ears seemed to be ringing, numb to sounds. You could barely murmur out a weak stop, but he ignored it – which also relieved you, you did not really want to stop–, choosing to insert a finger and then two into you, moving them in and out at first and then pressing them upwards, looking for the spot inside you that made you see stars. You were about to say you were too sensitive for him to continue when he found it, and as you moaned loudly you heard Namjoon say something to him, but you couldn’t understand what it was, but Jimin’s response was to increase the pressure of his fingers and let your clit go. You were confused for a second but you soon understood when you felt one of Namjoon’s hands moving down, his fingers then making quick movements on your clit, knowing it was what you needed to get you there fast again. This time you felt the sensation growing, a tingling on the tips of your fingers, your toes, as it grew and permeated your entire body again. You thought they would relent, and then you remembered what Namjoon had said. They did not get tired.

You lost count after the fifth orgasm, or so you thought it was the fifth; your voice was hoarse from moaning and your clit was so sensitive from all of the overstimulation, and they did not seem like they wanted to stop anytime soon. You could feel the tears that had escaped your eyes wetting your cheeks, and every once in a while, one of them would lick them away while the other continued his assault on your clit, the pleasure relentlessly taking over you again and again. You did not know anymore when one orgasm ended and the other began, the tingling sensation a constant on your entire body. And then, finally, they snapped their fingers again, releasing your body from the invisible restraints.

You could barely move, but they helped shift and turn your body until you were on your hands and knees, Namjoon’s body behind you. You heard the sound of a small foil packet being opened, and then he was pressing inside you, his cock stretching you even though they had used their fingers before. It was always a stretch, Namjoon going in slowly, giving you time to adjust to his size before starting to thrust his hips into you. On his first thrust forward, you opened your mouth on a moan and Jimin took advantage of the opportunity to press his cock into your lips, holding your hair with one of his hands while the other was at the base of his cock, holding and moving it to go over your lips. You licked around his engorged head and then opened your mouth wider, taking him inside and sucking. You could barely keep your body upright, so soon your hands faltered, and you fell to your elbows, the dip in your spine changing the angle slightly and it had Namjoon pressing into that one spot that had you almost screaming. Jimin lowered his body, sitting down with his legs open to fit you between them, inclining his body backward, bending his elbows to have a good view of you, and it made it easier for you to suck him. His view was nice, your body bent forward, your ass being held by Namjoon’s hands while he pounded into you, but your view was not bad at all.

Jimin’s muscly thighs flexed each time he pressed his hips up, fucking into your mouth, his abs clenching, and his face… his face, dark black eyes half-closed, mouth open in a sly smile, licking his full lips still wet with your taste. You maintained eye contact while you sucked him, bobbing your head up and down, sucking hard when his head was about to leave your mouth, and when you went down, you let your tongue lick the underside. It was sloppy, saliva leaving your mouth, making him wetter and easier for your hand to help whatever did not fit your mouth. You were moaning around him, figuring he would like it as much as Namjoon did, and you were rewarded with high pitched moans from Jimin, his head now thrown back. On a hard suck downwards you felt his thighs clench and his release spill on your mouth at the same time Namjoon played with your clit, and you screamed and soon saw nothing else.

You did not know how long you were out, but when you came to your senses again you were lying on your front, covered by your blanket, and Jimin was nowhere in sight. You heard footsteps entering the room just when you raised your head and saw Namjoon with a cold bottle of water and pants on. He smiled tentatively at you, sitting by your side on the bed. He helped you sit, propped up against him, and you took the bottle from his hands, feeling thirsty.

“Hey,” his voice was almost shy, so different from before and from the usual Namjoon. Well, the Namjoon you thought you knew. “Are you ok?”

You nodded, smiling softly at him between sips. You looked around and then looked at him, the question clear in your eyes.

“Hm, Jimin’s gone now. He helped clean you up and left, we… we did not know if you wanted him here for the after. Or if at all. Or… if you still wanted me.”

It was strange, seeing this difference in him. Namjoon was so confident, especially in the bedroom, and after finding out the truth about him, you could not imagine he would ever be this timid.

“I still want you, Joon,” you could barely speak, but you wanted to reassure him, hugging him tightly. He needed you at this moment as much as you needed him. “I just have some questions, but I still love you.”

“I love you too, Y/n. And I’ll answer whatever you want.” He was eager to respond, his relief apparent in his voice.

“The first question is… can we have fun with Jimin again another time?”

398 notes · View notes

autumnsart22 · 3 years

Text

A Dream Come True: Shigaraki x Dabi x Reader part 2/2

Part 2 of the fanfic my friend wrote!

Warning: SMUT 🔥

Dabi strode off down the hall and you started to work on putting the rest of the groceries away, and cleaning some dishes in the sink. Shigaraki stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen. He looked around before looking at you, raising the empty beer bottle. You opened the drawer that held the trash and recycling and he threw it in with a loud clunk. He stood there in the middle of the kitchen for a little while before you finally asked,

“Can I help you?”

“You’re standing in front of the fridge.” he states plainly. You roll your eyes and move out of the way as he grabs another beer. He makes his way back to the table and sits down.

You both pass the time in silence as he sips on his beer and you finish cleaning the kitchen. At some point Dabi comes out of the bathroom still drying his hair with a towel wearing nothing but your brother's old pair of black joggers that look slightly too big but the strings in the front were tied tight preventing them from falling any lower. Dear god what have you done to deserve this? He switched with Shigaraki who took his turn in the bathroom while you scoured the apartment for extra blankets and pillows and threw them on the couch. When Shigaraki was done in the shower he came out in a long sleeve white shirt and your ex-boyfriend's old pair of grey sweatpants. He joined Dabi who had heated up one of the soba cups from the store.

“Okay I’m gonna go shower, you can just...yea” you spoke out loud trailing off as neither of them paid you any attention, and you left to go to the bathroom. You peeled off your work clothes, just some black jeans and a black blouse, throwing them into the same pile of clothes as Dabi and Shigaraki’s. You took your time washing your hair and and shaving your legs feeling like you deserved to pamper yourself a little given your night. You weren’t that tired given that you basically turned nocturnal since working at the bar. When you felt fresh and clean you dried off and wrapped yourself up in a towel to head to your room. Once you changed into some sweats and a tank top you made your way back out to the living room to find Dabi, now wearing a black t-shirt, and Shigaraki on the couch both nursing another beer while talking in hushed tones which again halted the moment they saw you. They both looked at you.

“What?” You said confused on why they were both staring at you.

“I have more questions,” Shigaraki stated, finally averting his gaze away from you, although it seemed reluctant.

“Okay...shoot” you said walking into the kitchen for a glass of water then plopping onto the middle section of the couch in between them. If there was one piece of furniture you splurged on it was this couch. It was a huge ‘U’ shape and could fit up to 10 people if they squished side by side. Shigaraki and Dabi were both sprawled on the two sides of the couch with you sitting in the bottom of the U.

“What sort of art or shit do people create about us?”

You almost choke on your water. That was not the sort of question you were expecting.

“Why?” you said suspiciously.

“You mentioned it earlier and I’m curious,” Shigaraki said, making large hand gestures swinging his beer bottle around. He must be getting kinda tipsy.

“Fine but if I’m answering these questions. I’m gonna need a stronger drink”

“All out here princess” Shigaraki says, taking the last gulp of his beer and waving it towards you.

“Same here.” Dabi says holding his beer bottle up, as though expecting you to take it. You stand up and grab both bottles and chuck them into the recycling, then grabbing a bottle of rum from the back of your cabinet. You make your way back to the couch and take a large swig shuddering as it goes down. Shigaraki motions for the bottle and you hand it over passing it to Dabi afterwards.

“Okay so back to my question”

“Well people write and draw all kinds of shit. Everything from just realistic art or funny art to overtly sexual” Shigaraki raises an eyebrow at this.

“What you don’t believe me?” You ask laughing slightly cause if only they knew.

“People think of crusty in that way?” Dabi laughs.

“Hey like you’re any better staples. Y/N who do people like more?” Shigaraki shoots.

“That’s gotta be Dabi. He’s pretty well known as being attractive”

“Fuck you” Shigaraki pouts and Dabi smirks to himself.

“Hey it’s not my fault, and trust me there’s still a ton of shit about you. And some of both of you” You said this last part quickly while taking another large swallow of rum. You couldn’t help yourself.

“What do you mean the both of us?” Dabi and Shigaraki looked at you hesitantly.

“Well people like to put you two together. It’s called shipping, or they just pair you together as like a duo in fanfiction”

Both of their reactions looked like they were about to gag and murder the other at just the thought of what people had had them do to eachother.

“Okay that’s the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in my life” Dabi says reaching for the bottle which you hand over willingly.

“Moving on from that,” Shigaraki says, shaking his head as though to physically erase his mind. “So Y/N you’re obviously a fan. Who are your favorites?”

“I don’t know. I have a lot of people I like and don’t like. It depends.” At this point your brain was becoming warm and fuzzy but you didn’t want to let anything slip out that could be potentially embarrassing or would make the two men turn against you.

“Bullshit. Spill”

“I told you it depends”

“On what?” he said this with a sneer.

“I don’t know” You said exasperatedly. “my mood, who’s been most present in the media. It just depends on what I’m looking for.”

“What you’re looking for?” Dabi repeated confusedly.

“Next question” You state simply.

The two villains raise their eyebrows at you, curious at your evasion of the question, but your lips stay shut.

“Fine we’ll come back to that one Princess.” Shigaraki complies.“What do we look like in the show? I mean do we look different in real life?”

“Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out how to get you guys back?” you ask.

“Not much we can do about it. I’m sure the rest of the league and Kurogiri are tracking down those thugs right now, so answer my question”

“I don’t know. I guess you look kinda different, but I can still recognize you. I can show you if you want?” Shigaraki looks at you with affirmation. You get up to get your computer which you hook up to the tv screen in front of the couch. Dabi and Shigaraki turn so they can see the television, both laying down on their backs. You open your laptop (sorry I am basing it off my computer) and type in your password.

“Is that Shoto?” Dabi says disgustedly. There was in fact a fanart picture of Todoroki amongst the collage that was your background screen.

“Oh yeah. He would be in the it depends list” you say timidly quickly opening up the browser to cover up the background.

“Why the fuck did he look like some 20 year old model?”

“I told you, it’s fanart. People draw characters the way they see them or want to see them. Shoto is also really popular amongst fans if not the most I would say”

Dabi makes a noise of revulsion. You turn back to start typing in Shigaraki’s name into the browser and instantly images pop up as well as the fandom wiki and regular wiki articles. You click on images and start to scroll through.

“This is weird” Shigaraki says slightly in awe but disturbed at seeing this world's visions of his life. “Here give me that” he says gesturing towards your computer. You hand it over reluctantly.

“Seriously?!” he says grabbing the laptop.

“What?” you say hesitantly. Did you forget to close out of something?

He lifts the computer for Dabi to also see the two stickers on the sides of your trackpad.

“The anger explosion boy and pro eraserhead?” Dabi said, judgement was obvious in his tone.

“What?” you said defensively.

“Nothing I just thought you’d be a villain girl and all”

WTF, you think. What was that supposed to mean?

“Why do you think that? And who says I’m not?”

Dabi raised an eyebrow in interest but didn't answer your taunts, instead turning back to the screen. Shigaraki has been scrolling through and tapping on pictures of himself making little noises and reactions.

“This is fucking weird” He states again, the screen was stopped on a very sultry piece of fanart of Shigaraki.

“Take that down you freak. No one needs to see your crusty dusty body like that. Hand it over.” Dabi tells Shigaraki.

Shigaraki passes the computer over and Dabi searches his own name seeing all the pictures of him, although significantly more fanart pops up for him. He scrolls for a little bit but becomes weirded out or downright just bored at the photos of him. He then goes back to the wikipedia page and starts to read. While the two men continue to look at the screen and read information about their show, you stand up and head to the kitchen feeling peckish. You wander through the kitchen opening and closing all the cabinets waiting for something to catch your eye. You open the fridge and close it moving onto the freezer. Your eyes scan the contents when you spot the pint of chocolate fudge ice cream. You take it out and grab a spoon making your way back to the couch. When you get to the couch both Shigaraki and Dabi are staring at you again with intensity and amusement.

“What?” you say, plopping back into your spot, struggling to tear open the plastic and resorting to using your teeth. With both of them still staring at you as though waiting for something, you look at the screen and see that your messages are open. You take a second to read the new text from your friend.

‘Dude have you read this Shiggy Dabs fanfic? It made me 🤤🥵’

‘This ones similar to the last one you sent me, so be prepared⛓️😂’

Your heart sank as you saw the familiar logo of Ao3 underneath those texts.

“What were you saying about being a villain girl?” Dabi said, smirking.

“I––” You had no idea what to say.

“Aww is the Princess embarrassed” Shigaraki says teasingly.

You try to get up to leave but a hand roughly pulls you back down and you hide behind your hands refusing to look at the two villains. This was so embarrassing. What were you going to do? Now they knew that you liked them. That you were like the other people in this world that they had been disgusted by all night. They weren’t likely to just let this go. If only you could get to your room and lock the door maybe they would just leave.

“Come on don’t be shy. Are we on your depends list?”

They take your silence and continued evasion as an affirmation.

“Hmm…” You hear Dabi hum lowly. “What exactly are we dependent on? What are you looking for when you search for us?” Dabi asks, already knowing the answer.

“Come on tell us” Shigaraki coos. You shake your head. You could feel both of the boys drawing closer to you like school bullies cornering you in the bathroom, but you didn’t dare look up at them, too embarrassed. That’s when you heard typing. Your head whips up to see Dabi replying to your friend.

‘What exactly do you mean by similar?’

By the time you read what he wrote they were already responding.

‘You know 😂 the usual non-con threesome with you and dabs and shigs. Kidnapping, ropes, degradation, similar to all the other fanfics 😋 tho in this one you cum four times and each a dif way😳 ’

If your stomach dropped even more. It would have touched the ground.

“So not only are you a villain’s girl but you’re a kinky little slut too?” Dabi says chuckling. He was practically next to you staring at your frozen figure as you looked at the screen.

“I should have known when you walked out here with these cute little things poking out” He reached over and pinched your nipple tugging on the metal barbell through it. You squealed instinctually pulling away but he caught the top of your tank top effectively pulling it down revealing your breasts, each decorated with a metal piercing.

You motion to cover them, but your hands are once again forced behind your back, however this time Shigaraki had the pleasure of restraining you.

“Let go of me!” you yelped at the humiliating assault.

“I thought you liked this?” Dabi said in mock sympathy. “Just how many times have you gotten off to us?”

You were squirming trying to remove yourself from Shigaraki’s grip.

“Answer the question” Dabi said, pinching your nipple again. You yelped in pain but you could feel the slick starting to build between your legs.

“A lot okay. Now let go!”

Dabi and Shigaraki complied surprisingly. You regained your breath and pulled your tank top back up. The next few minutes passed in silence as Shigaraki took another swig of rum and Dabi continued to scroll through the different My Hero wikipedia pages. You got up still in shock taking your forgotten ice cream back to the freezer. You had lost your appetite.

What were you supposed to do now? You were still slightly scared of them after what just happened but you couldn’t ignore the arousal that had been sparked deep within you. You had dreamt of this many times. This wasn’t much different than the different fanfiction you had read, and honestly this would be on the tamer end, but that was just fiction. But were you really going to pass up this chance? How could you? Yet why’d they stop? You were surprised and honestly kinda disappointed they had now that you were standing in the kitchen. And with that you had made up your mind. You are not going to pass up this chance you could never forgive yourself.

You made your way back over to the couch but didn’t sit down. You stood in front of them silent staring at your feet, trying to figure out what you wanted to say.

“What?” Dabi said as though nothing had happened.

“Why’d you stop?” you asked timidly.

“Hmm? Because you said so.” Dabi said as though this was an obvious answer to a stupid question.

You looked at him surprised.

“Don’t believe me?” He said with a small chuckle.

When you didn’t seem to get any less anxious he continued with a sigh.

“Look Princess, I may be a bastard and sadistic villain but I don’t go wishing pain on everyone, especially ones with cute tits. Of course if they’re into that then I’m down” He said this so casually it seemed almost wrong, all while he continued to watch your computer screen. You assumed it was in part due to the alcohol, but still.

“you’re blocking the screen,” Shigaraki said annoyed.

“Was that all princess?” Dabi said mockingly

“Well….”

“What?” Shigaraki spat.

“Hurry up,” Dabi said flatly.

“What if I wanted to continue?” You said finally looking up at them. They both looked at you intently, then gave each other a look and were smiling when their eyes fell back to you.

“Our little Princess wants to live out her dirty villainous fantasies...huh?”

You nod. Wait did they just say our?

“Come on tell us what you’ve dreamt about?” Dabi says beckoning you over to him with one finger.

Once you’re in front of him, he pulls you down onto his lap so you're facing him. You look at him hesitantly biting your lip.

“You’re the expert of these little situations, Princess” he says holding his hands up for you to guide them. You take his hands slowly, unsure of your actions and guide them back to your breasts. He gives you a smirk and gives you a good squeeze, causing a small moan to escape your throat. You instinctually grind down into his lap feeling his member start to harden beneath you. You lean your head back as Dabi pulls your tank top over your head. You look over at Shigaraki who’s staring at you starting to palm himself through the sweats.

“Him too princess?” Dabi asks you, giving your nipples a pinch causing you to moan all the while still staring at Shigaraki “Mmmhmmm”

This was enough for Shigaraki to slide down the couch to where the two of you were.

“Tell him where you want him, otherwise he won’t know what to do, I can’t imagine he’s done this before” Dabi encourages.

“Oh shut up” Shigaraki hisses, but he focuses back on you when you grab his hand and bring it to your neck. He insticutally keeps one finger raised, but you push that finger down with the rest deep into the side of your neck limiting the oxygen flowing to your brain, enough to give you that high. Flooded with pleasure you grind down again into Dabi feeling your underwear starting to become uncomfortably wet.

Looking into Shigaraki’s crimson eyes, you could feel them boring into you just as hungry as you felt. He leans in close, lips barely ghosting over your own. You could feel both of your breaths mixing in the millimeters between you two when Dabi gives a harsh tug to both your nipples causing you to gasp. Shigaraki seized this opportunity to violently smash your lips together. Your hand reaches into his hair, gripping for support as the initial ferver and clash of teeth dies down into long passionate tangling of tongues as you explore each other's mouth. His rough lips scratching into your’s was a sensation you’ve imagined many times but none of it lived up to reality. He nipped lightly on your bottom lip making you lean into him more.

Dabi’s hands continued their exploration of your torso, moving down your sides to your hips and around to your ass. He squeezed and kneaded them with his strong fingers. Shigaraki squeezed your neck again sending another rush of euphoria to your head making you moan into his mouth before he pulled away to attack your neck and take over teasing your breasts. You look back at Dabi with hunger in your eyes.

“What now princess? What do you want?” He says with a devilish grin.

You grind down into his cock again which is now hard as ever.

“Uh-uh. Use your words.” he says giving your ass a squeeze.

Shigaraki rolls your nipples in between his harsh fingers sending waves of pleasure and pain throughout your body, causing you to roll your head again and let out a short moan. When you look back at Dabi, you speak in a low breathy tone, almost a whisper.

“Abuse me”

With those few words, Dabi smirks and slips his hands underneath the waistband of your sweats. “As you wish”

Shigaraki continues his attack to your neck sucking and biting, leaving red and darkened patches curving down your shoulder and back. Dabi continued his groping, and you could feel the rough staples scratching at your flesh and his nails digging in harsher than before. His hands slide down the curve of your ass tugging your soiled underwear to the side.

“Hmmm you’re so wet.” Dabi said, ghosting his fingers over your dripping entrance.

“You little whore. Getting so wet for a couple of villains” You shiver at the sensitive touch and degrading words. Gripping to Shigaraki’s shirt and grinding down trying to gain friction, you notice Shigaraki palming himself again. You replace his hand with your own, wrapping your fingers around his clothed cock, squeezing lightly. Shigaraki groaned deeply in your ear, sending vibrations straight to your core while Dabi’s fingers dip slightly into your needy hole but only enough to tease more juices and whimpers out of you. You try to push down onto them only for him to retreat.

“Please...stop teasing” you whine.

“So needy Princess huh? You want my fingers in that little cunt of yours?”

“Yes. Dabi. Please” you didn't care at this point how pathetic you sounded. The pressure in your core was building and you needed to be pushed over the edge.

“Go on...make yourself cum on my fingers. Show me how much you want it,” Dabi said sneering at how desperate you looked. He finally allowed two fingers to sink into you as you lowered your hips again. You were always amazed at how much deeper fingers other than your own could reach, and Dabi’s in particular could reach places you could never dream of finding on your own.

The effect was immediate. You started to roll your hips, bouncing slightly on Dabi’s fingers. You’re grip on Shigarak’s member stalls as you’re overwhelmed with pleasure. Shigaraki, displeased by this fact, guides you inside his sweats, pumping himself with your hand. You could feel the precum leaking from his slit as your fingers smear it up and down his shaft. Shigaraki continued his abuse of your flesh, moving down biting and sucking till his teeth latched onto your sensitive nipple. You whine as Dabi’s other hand had found your clit. He twirled it between his fingers letting his nail drag over it. This added stimulation drove you closer sending shivers up your spine.

“Mm close” you whimper as your movements on Dabi’s fingers become sloppy.

“Come on princess. Make yourself cum, make a pretty little mess all over my fingers”

Dabi presses into your clit and you grind down hard again. Dabi wickedly curls his fingers pressing into that soft spot inside you releasing the knot of pressure that had been building in your core.Your legs shake and you clamp down hard onto his fingers which are still moving in and out of you, prolonging your orgasm.

You weakly fall forward onto Dabi’s chest as Shigaraki releases your hand from his dick. You can feel Dabi’s fingers pull out of you and when you open your eyes you see him playing with your sticky release coating his fingers. You watch as Dabi brings his fingers to his mouth, smearing some on his lip and licking it before taking them into his mouth, sucking and cleaning yourself off of him.

“Princess you’re delicious” He says smiling down at you making you blush at the crude compliment.

“My turn to taste'' Shigaraki said, pulling you off Dabi’s lap. He positioned you on your back, your head resting on Dabi’s thigh. As Shigaraki did away with your sweats and underwear, you pulled Dabi’s mismatched lips to yours. The feeling was heavenly. You could still taste yourself on his tongue as he explored your mouth. You tugged needily at Dabi’s shirt and he pulled it off only breaking the kiss for a brief moment.

You savored the wet and slow pace opposite to Shigaraki’s fast and rough, both pleasure in their own ways. You’re breath hitched and you moaned deeply when you felt Shigaraki’s wet tongue lick the length of your core, swiping up the sticky left overs from your previous release.

You look down at Shigaraki. He had positioned himself between your thighs, knees slumped over his shoulders. He was staring up at you licking his lips before attaching himself to your clit sucking at it harshly. You could feel that ball of pressure tighten again in your stomach and you let your head fall back to Dabi’s thigh, eyes shut, focusing on the feeling of the hot wet mouth working at your sex. You’re hand threaded its way into Shigaraki’s silky blue hair, tugging lightly, only making him suck harder.

You felt Dabi’s hand on your cheek and you opened your eyes looking up into his sapphire eyes before he turned your head. You were met with Dabi’s unclothed cock. Your eyes followed the Jacobs ladder of staples up his shaft to the head where you could see a bead of precum sitting at the slit. You smile thinking how in the hell fanfic got this detail right.

“What’re you smiling at? Impressed?”

“Hmm...No piercing, huh? Guess they got that part wrong”

“You people are sick” he says chuckling before directing his dick into your mouth.

You take it gladly bobbing your head down his shaft, hollowing your cheeks before sliding back up, letting your tongue catch on each of the staples. Dabi let out a low groan, putting his hand in your hair to keep it away from your face.

You continue to work your mouth on Dabi’s cock while Shigaraki continues to swipe his tongue through your sensitive folds. You moan around Dabi’s length when Shigaraki slips a finger inside, causing you to buck your hips, pushing his tongue deeper into you.

The vibrations from your tight throat had Dabi pushing your head down taking his entire length. You gagged around his cock, choking for air but that only drove you further into your pleasure. Shigaraki added another finger and started pistoning into you violently while sucking at your clit once again. You moaned, tugging at Shigaraki’s hair, signaling you were close. You could tell Dabi was close too as he took control and started face fucking you, the tip of his cock hitting the back of your throat with every thrust.

Shigaraki added a third finger stretching you wider and driving you over the edge for the second time as you gasped around Dabi’s cock, legs squeezing around Shigaraki. Your orgasm drove Dabi to the edge as he thrust into you again and kept your head down as your throat tightened around his length. Thick ropes of cum shot from the tip and slid down the back of your throat. You took it all swallowing until you couldn’t breathe anymore pushing Dabi away. You’re head lolled on Dabi’s lap as you recovered from your high.

Dabi was leaning back breathing deeply with his eyes closed. Your brain was still foggy but it wasn’t long until you felt something back against your sex. Looking down you see Shigaraki lining himself up with your entrance, coating his cock in your juices. Your eyes widen at seeing his length out in the open. It was not as decorated as Dabi’s but it held the same presence, being about an inch longer although not as thick as Dabi’s. Shigaraki looks up at you when he lines himself up, the tip merely resting against you, and sees your nervous expression.

“Huh didn’t think I was getting you this wet for nothing. I ain’t wasting a drop of this pussy”

He stared into your eyes as he steadily pushed into you. The stretch was almost unbearable. You squeezed your eyes shut trying to make it through the burning stretch.

“Shit you’re tight. Feels like my dick is in a vice... fuuuuuck… relax” Shigaraki hissed.

You could barely register his voice let alone his request. You could barely breath focusing only on the pain as Shigaraki continued to push against your walls.

“Hey patchwork stop sleeping and get her to breathe”

Dabi shifts underneath you and you feel his hands run down your sides outlining your torso. Even though he didn’t have his quirk, his hands were hot and soothing as they rubbed against your skin.

“Come on Princess.” You open your eyes slightly to see Dabi looking down at you patronizingly.

“You’ve been doing so well,” He said brushing your jaw with the back of his hand. “And you wanna feel good right?”

You nod meekly.

Dabi leans down so his lips are hovering centimeters over yours. The smell of alcohol on his breath tantalizing and his minty scent making your head spin.

“Breathe Princess. Just focus on me” He whispers before putting his lips on yours. You melt into the kiss doing exactly what Dabi says, exhaling through your nose and focusing on the way his cold staples scratch against your skin while his soft tongue dances with your own.

When you break the kiss for air it’s only because Shigaraki has managed to bury himself to the hilt. You can feel him pressing against your cervix deep inside you. You look at him again and find him head tilted back, eyes closed, taking in the feeling of you pulsing around him. Even though you know it’s not out of consideration but pure self indulgence, you're glad that he hasn’t started moving yet as you adjust to his length. Eventually it seems the lust of needing to rearrange your insides trumped being his own personal cockwarmer. His eyes fell on you again as you pulled out till only the tip was inside before bottoming out once again. Each time slowly pulling out only to thrust back in at full force.

You were still adjusting to his length, but soon the burning sensation of being stretched and pounded turned into addicting pleasure. You resumed your kiss with Dabi whose hands had found their way to your breast as Shigaraki increased his pace. Soon you were being knocked senseless by Shigaraki’s ruthless pace. He always has been fast on screen, so why did you think he’d be any different here. Moans and gasps escaped your mouth as the tip of Shigaraki’s cock hit your cervix. Once again the pressure began to build in your core. You began to whimper as you were pushed closer and closer to the edge.

“Fuckkk I’m close. It’s like you're pulling me deeper. So fucking good” Shigaraki panted out falling to his hands on either side of your hips for support. You whimper again and claw at the couch cushions as you could feel yourself just on the brink when Dabi’s hand slides down your stomach and begins rubbing at your clit. You cry out and clamp down hard on Shigaraki legs shaking and eyes rolling back as Dabi’s ministrations send you through your third orgasm of the night.

You feel Shigaraki thrust once more hard and then hot thick jets of white paint your walls. You shudder at the feeling of being pumped full, your sex still milking him of everylast drop. Shigaraki finally pulls out of you and lays back on the couch catching his breath savoring the last waves of his high falling down.

You too were recuperating and limp, unable to move. Your mind was hazy from the alcohol and the relentless stimulation. You were so tired that you didn’t even care about cleaning up but rather drifting off to sleep right there. However you were jostled from these thoughts as Dabi had rolled you off his lap and onto your stomach. You could hardly keep up with his movements as he stood and walked around you. It wasn’t until you felt a pair of hands lifting your hips that you looked back to see Dabi fisting is dick that looked painfully hard. You couldn’t fathom another round right now but you were still so weak from your last high that you didn’t have time to prepare before Dabi thrusted into your already abused hole.

He sighed once he was buried inside you. He leaned down so his chest was hovering above your back the heat making your skin prickle. He leaned down till his breath could be felt on the back of your neck.

“Mhmm… ’m so close already and you’re gonna let me pump you full, aren’t you princess”

You couldn’t respond because your overly sensitive body was already reacting to Dabi's hard cock pressing into you, stretching you wider around his girth. Even though your mind was fading in and out, you involuntarily pressed your hips back to make him go deeper, seeking out the friction your body needed to overdose on.

Dabi was the exact opposite of Shigaraki. He took his time, thrusting in and out, making sure you felt every staple and ridge of his cock dragging against your walls savoring the way they pulled him in. Overstimulation caused tears to form in the corners of your eyes only soft whimpers escaping your mouth. Dabi continued slow and deliberate, letting out low breathy grunts with every thrust. On the edge once more, never fully recovering from before, you were longing to be undone one last time.

“Please Dabi” you mewl.

Dabi snickered in your ear before snaking his hand under you and pressing his fingers to your clit which was all the stimulation you needed to moan out and squeeze around Dabi who came at the feeling of your gummy walls constricting around his pulsing length. You felt his seed fill you up and mix with Shigaraki’s inside you. Dabi dropped down next to you, rolling you onto your side so you were effectively spooning with his cock still inside you. You could hear movement apart from you and Dabi, and in opening your eyes you saw Shigaraki standing pulling up the sweats that were bunched at his thighs. He noticed you staring at him.

“Tch. I don’t cuddle Princess and I gotta piss” His tone was crude but laced with content from having a good fuck. “Don’t let a single drop out Dabi” Shigaraki stated before walking down the hall.

Dabi didn’t respond but seemed to have no intent on moving as you felt his member begin to soften inside you. You couldn’t be more concerned about the implications behind Shigaraki’s comment or the fact that you still had a dick inside you. You were just tired and groggy from the night's events and thankful that you were finally able to be comfortable and close your eyes. You didn’t think Dabi was really a cuddle after sex with a stranger kinda guy but you weren’t complaining. He was warm and made you feel safe despite knowing he would most likely kill you in any other context. You let your eyes close again, head falling onto Dabi’s arm, giving into the waves of exhaustion coming over you.

When Shigaraki came back from the bathroom he found you and Dabi still in the exact same position he left you in. Dabi opened his eyes when he heard Shigaraki come back into the room.

“Is she out?” Shigaraki asked.

“Think so,” Dabi said, finally pulling out of you and tugging the joggers back up to his hips. He slides out from behind you, but you don’t even realize, body only curling inwards at the loss of heat. Dabi stands and looks down at you with Shigaraki. You look so worn out and peaceful. Your body exposed for them, hickeys and bruises forming where Shigaraki ravaged your neck. Your ass is still red from the pounding, and welts forming where Dabi’s strong fingers dug into you. However the best part was probably the shine of slick spread on the inside of your thighs as a stream white cum dribbled from your used hole.

Shigaraki notices this and sits down by your feet.

“What’re you doing?”

“I told you I don’t want any of it out. Got a problem with that?”

“Nope.” Dabi said rolling his eyes and walking away. “I’ve learned to not try and figure out your sick mind”

Shigaraki looked back down at you.

“Good. I have plans for her.” Dabi rolled his eyes again and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Shigaraki ran a hand up your thigh and you flexed at his touch, still unconscious. Shigaraki ran his fingers down the length of your core smearing the juices there before scooping up the stream of cum still leaking out of you and pushing it back inside you. His two fingers easily slipped into your stretched whole, but that didn’t stop a small whine from slipping from your throat. Shigaraki moved his fingers lazily in and out of you pushing the cum deeper. His eyes shot to your face when your hips bucked instinctively against him, your face was scrunched and staggered breaths and sniffs escaping your slightly parted lips, but you were still out, lost in whatever continued fantasy your fatigued brain was conjuring.

Shigaraki pushed into you a few more times selfishly pressing into the soft spot inside you that had you clamp down onto his fingers one last time. You gasped and curled further into a ball. When Shigaraki pulled his fingers out you hummed, face still scrunched, but he got up and left to the kitchen to wash off his hands.

When Dabi came back he met Shigaraki in the kitchen grabbing a glass of water and leaning against the counter.

“What do we do now?” Dabi asked casually.

“Well I don’t know ‘bout you but I’m fucking exhausted”

“Do you really think the rest of the league will be able to figure this out?”

“Kurogiri is smart enough, even if the rest of the league is useless with this sort of thing. However I am curious what this sick twisted universe has to offer us”

“Whatever you say” Dabi says walking back to the couch, and lifting you bridal style. You lean into his warmth as he carries you to your bedroom plopping you down on your bed and closing the door.

When you open your eyes the next morning, you feel your head throbbing against your skull. The bright light streaming in through your window was enough to make you want to stab the sun till it was nothing more than an ember. You closed your eyes again trying to remember the dream you were having but as you searched your brain, pieces of your dream seemed to turn into memories. You shot your eyes open and sat up. It was just a dream right? Realizing you were naked and that your skin felt sticky and dirty was enough to make your head pound harder than before. Wasn’t the fact you were hungover proof enough that last night events had taken place? No, there was still a chance you had just gotten drunk and imagined it all, but you had to be sure. You sprang out of bed and pulled on some loose shorts and a shirt, impatiently throwing open the door and speeding down the hall to where the proof you needed would be.

The living room was lit by the bright sunlight streaming through the curtains. The golden rays illuminated messy blankets and pillows strewn across the couch, an empty rum bottle, a pair of your sweats and tank top buried on the floor, but no one was there. You felt nauseous trying to piece everything together along with the aftermath of the alcohol. You rush to the sink in the kitchen and puke up the contents of your stomach. You grip the counter and close your eyes until you felt more confident in your body's ability to keep everything inside. You slowly open your eyes and look around, mind going back to what happened last night. However you get sidetracked by a bright blue sticky note sticking up from your countertop. Walking over to it you read.

“Kurogiri is a smart man. We’ll be back Princess. PS I want the blood out of my pants.”

#shigaraki #shiggy #tomura #Dabi #shigaraki x dabi #dabi x shigaraki #dabi x reader #shigaraki x dabi x reader #shigaraki x reader #smut #anime #fanfiction #fandom #fanfic #spicy

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faunusrights · 3 years

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what is going on with all the bias on robyn hill’s wiki page, anyway? - an aside

As someone who uses the RWBY wiki with some degree of frequency - often because I’m looking for art references, or Semblance and weapon names - I’m used to... some amount of bias in the articles for different characters? Like, let’s be real, it’s not a perfect wiki! Community-maintained stuff isn’t easy to all keep on the same track! But, generally, it gives the facts well enough and doesn’t do too bad a job keeping all the balls in the air when it comes to new information from all four corners of this franchise.

Well, until you open the article for Robyn Hill, and realise it’s an absolute disaster. Like, really; the impartial voice just plain doesn’t exist for her, and almost all of her wiki is written in such a way that she reads as being an absolutely insufferable, hostile, hard-to-like character. Even if you aren’t a fan of Robyn personally, you have to admit that if you hadn’t seen the show yourself, you might very well come away from her article presuming she’s a major antagonist of Volumes 7 and 8.

Like, for instance, let’s take a look at the first paragraph of her Personality section:

Robyn has a direct and confident personality, having no trouble being confrontational with Atlas personnel, including the Ace Operatives. Robyn also seems to suffer from overconfidence and arrogance, shown in her encounters with Ruby and celebrating her election victory before it was verified. She is aggressive and hostile in nature, quickly jumping to conflict without thinking through consequences. However, she is also shown to be reasonable when the situation calls for it.

And, for good measure, here’s another paragraph from the same section:

In "With Friends Like These" Robyn displayed a rather impulsive side of her personality, when upon hearing that James Ironwood's plan to abandon Mantle and arrest those against him, she started a fight between herself, Clover Ebi, and Qrow Branwen onboard a Manta with Tyrian Callows in custody. Despite the fact, there was no order or her arrest. Her brashness led to Tyrian breaking free and crashing the Manta as well as her becoming unconscious.

(Taken from Robyn’s RWBY Wiki page. Bolding is mine.)

In every instance here, all of the “negative” aspects of her personality take centre stage; she’s confrontational. She suffers from arrogance. She is aggressive and hostile. She started the fight. Her brashness led to the crash. All of this is only compounded when her positive traits trail behind as an afterthought; she’s direct and confrontational, overconfident and arrogant, aggressive and hostile, impulsive and jumps to conclusions... but hey! As least she’s reasonable when the situation calls for it.

The way that this information is presented to the reader is quite literally on par with how the wiki presents the personalities of the actual literal villains who appear throughout the show. Let’s take, for instance, the Personality section of Cinder Fall:

Cinder is ruthless and sadistic, as demonstrated when she delivers a killing blow to a clearly defeated Pyrrha Nikos in "End of the Beginning" and when she throws a spear at a defenseless Weiss Schnee in "The More the Merrier." She is relentlessly driven to gain power and determined to cross any line to obtain it. Cinder demonstrates a cunning that shows in her successful manipulation of events and people throughout the first three volumes. Cinder is also arrogant and egomaniacal, and as such, relishes in dominance and gloating, displaying shameless pleasure in the misery she has caused others.

Or, the Personality section of Raven Branwen:

Raven is cynical, patronizing, selfish and stubborn. She believed her act of "kindness" of saving Yang's life from Neopolitan was sufficient despite having left Yang at a very young age and refused to protect her daughter when in need after that.

Raven is also very prideful and hypocritical, refusing to acknowledge her faults and always trying to justify her actions both to others and to herself, often putting the blame on others for them even if she feels real guilt about them.

It makes sense that for an antagonist, the primary faults and flaws of their personalities will come first, as to better represent them as the villains to clarify to the reader who they are and why they act as they do in their storylines. However, the fact that Robyn arguably has an even more caustic write-up then Raven, despite not being an antagonist, goes to show the lengths this writer has gone to present her in a significantly more negative light than she ever appears in the show.

If this doesn’t seem convincing, let’s look at a more direct comparison; what does the wiki say about Ironwood? He’s present in the same seasons, and has now become more of an antagonist in the latter episodes; is the wiki quite as blunt about his flaws?

Ironwood is courteous to his allies, as shown by his first onscreen interaction with Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. He is also far-thinking and tactical, wondering about the future, as seen when he speaks to Ozpin about Qrow Branwen's message. He also has a jovial, friendly, humorous and proud public persona, which he uses as a spokesman for the weapon manufacturers of Atlas.

However, as courteous Ironwood may appear, he can also be incredibly blunt, often preferring the direct approach. When he feels necessary, Ironwood is not afraid to bring the full might of his military command to bear, which sparked disagreements with both Glynda and Ozpin. Nevertheless, Ironwood is extremely loyal to his comrades, and however questionable his methods may be, he seems to have genuinely good intentions behind them.

Uh, no.

Instead, when his flaws are mentioned (for example, being blunt), it’s written in a significantly less... abrasive manner. It’s referred to as the direct approach, versus Robyn who is described as confrontational. Even then, his flaws are folded in to his (alleged) positive traits; he is not afraid, extremely loyal, and has genuinely good intentions, despite the fact that the show has now proven that Ironwood’s flaws greatly outweigh these. It reveals how thoroughly all of Robyn’s actions are presented as the work of an arrogant troublemaker, whilst Ironwood’s actions are presented as the efforts of a man working towards some greater good.

Also, I’ll add that in both examples, I used the first two paragraphs of their Personality sections. These are both the first two things you read about these characters, yet look at how differently they’re summarised.

What is interesting, however, is that despite this bias being extremely self-evident, the comments on her page generally chime agreement, referring to her as “overconfident, arrogant, impulsive and hotheaded to the point of being unlikable”, and claiming that she’s “literally the worse character in the show next to cinder, blake and yang”[1]. Someone mentions that Robyn has earned quite the hatedom... but why?

Broadly, my experiences of Robyn Hill’s writing in the fandom has been through a queer lens, and the vast majority of writers who’ve covered her and the Happy Huntresses have been women, or queer, or trans, or all the above... basically, the people who are usually responsible for a vast majority of fanfiction, let’s be real. These writers love Robyn, and have explored and extrapolated on her character to marvellous degree. Yet, at no singular point have any of these flaws ever been written quite as strongly as the wiki implies they are, nor have I seen much evidence of them myself in the show. For instance, let’s take one of the more serious points in her Personality section; she started a fight between herself, Clover Ebi, and Qrow Branwen [...] her brashness led to Tyrian breaking free and crashing the Manta as well as her becoming unconscious.

When we watch this scene again, Robyn did initiate the fight... because she was rightfully aware that Clover would obey his orders, even if they were wrong. Despite everything that happened prior in the entirety of Volume 7, when given orders to bring Qrow in alongside RWBY, it was clear that Clover fully intended to follow it through, which Robyn knows from prior experience with the AceOps:

[image ID: two images of Clover, Robyn and Qrow in the dark-grey interior of the Manta ship. Robyn has her weapon aimed at Clover as he stands in front of Qrow. Clover is saying “Only Qrow is under arrest [...] please don’t make me arrest you too.”]

Her knowledge of the AceOps means that she reacted accordingly; trying to stop him from taking Qrow in and obeying Ironwood’s plan the only way she knows the AceOps respond to. Her reaction isn’t unwarranted. However, my point isn’t to argue that Robyn was right or wrong, but rather that regardless of who started the fight, the way the wiki explains this specific incident is that it’s solely Robyn’s fault that Tyrian escaped and crashed the Manta, but we know this isn’t the case. Robyn and Qrow both fought Clover, and it was Clover’s good luck (or Qrow’s bad luck, depending on how you view it) that allowed for Kingfisher to break Tyrian’s bonds. Her brashness is blamed for the outcome, but in reality, this outcome could have been avoided together if Clover had not chosen to follow his orders and bring in an innocent man. Also, she didn’t crash the Manta! That was all Tyrian! The intentional tying together of these two events as her fault, however, are a neat package of blame.

In these instances on the wiki, Robyn’s personality appears amplified, focusing specifically on her flaws and exaggerating them to the extremes that, as noted earlier, matches the language used to define the very villains of the series. Yet, the people who enjoy her and the Happy Huntresses often perceive those same flaws to a significantly lesser extent, or even see those flaws as actually being boons of her character; for instance, reading her alleged arrogance as passion. So, why such division?

Before, I mentioned her “negative” traits, and I put this into quote marks because traits don’t always align nicely into good and bad. All aspects of a person can vary on how positive they are based on context - even the show proves this, with protectiveness becoming paranoia (Ironwood) or loyalty becoming subservience (Winter). Even a character that is broadly composed of more unfavourable traits can have this contextual shift; Cinder’s stubbornness to her goals makes her a fast learner and a tenacious opponent.

Yet, why did the writer (or writers) choose to highlight almost every aspect of Robyn’s character as a bad thing? Why did they frame her decisions as such? I have a suspicion it’s to do with her character at large; she’s a bold socialist politician who believes in equality and fairness for all, who refuses to stand for incompetence and obedience towards evil causes. She’s outspoken in her views, and reacts strongly to those who threaten to overturn her work. Also, she’s a woman, in charge of a group of other women, at least one of whom is canonically trans. To those who agree with her in real life, Robyn appears as a great character! We admire her work ethic and we support her ends. To those who may not... well, it’s not hard to see how they might perceive her as more of a cocky, authority-defying upstart. Of course, the core text of RWBY doesn’t quite believe the latter; RWBY has always placed Robyn as the direct counter to authoritarianism, whether it be Jacques, Clover, or Ironwood, and even the article admits that she is a potent voice for the people of Mantle. Still, it’s clear that there’s plenty of people in a vocal minority who are deeply dissatisfied by Robyn, and aren’t afraid to make their stance on the matter exceedingly clear.

So, what does this all mean? Well, here’s what we can say for sure; Robyn’s article is, and has always been, stringently biased against her character, and often misconstrues her motives and decisions. This is maybe the more obvious part, but how should her article be worded to make this less so? Likely, I’d rephrase a lot of it to be less damaging to her character; she isn’t hostile, she holds people accountable. She isn’t quick to jump to conflict, she is familiar with how Atlas responds to anti-authority with violence. She isn’t arrogant, she believes in the power of the people as being the right thing to fight for. Even this makes it clearer that her character is about resisting the oppression inherent in Atlas, and is a much clearer outline of her personality as a whole. People may disagree with this phrasing and summary also, but given her character is based on Robin Hood, it’s also not far from the mark in terms of what she should represent.

TL;DR: Robyn’s wiki page is written with a deep bias against her character and what she represents, acts upon, and chooses to do in the show; I have no doubt that in canon, this sort of language would probably be used by Jacques himself as a smear campaign, haha. Whilst I can’t speak for the author and their motives, I have a distinct feeling that this article was written, or edited, by someone who is either:

not a fan of Robyn

not a fan of a new female character

not a fan of a new female character in a position of power

not a fan of a character with socialist/communist/antifa ideals

all of the above and then some???

Even though I’m not going to edit her wiki page (I’m very shy and I’ve never done it before), I think it’s worth analysing this if only as a reminder of the inherent biases of an author even when people are trying to present a character’s information impartially. This isn’t the first wiki I’ve seen misconstrue - or even make incorrect assumptions on - facts about a character, and it won’t be the last. In the meantime, though, I leave you with this fact:

Robyn Hill slaps huge nuts and I love her.

[1] I’m not naming the users who posted these things here, because it’s unnecessary. You can find them for yourself at the bottom of Robyn’s wiki, but there’s no need to respond; some people just don’t like Robyn, and that’s fine - I’m just explaining how bias leaks into wikis like water into a sponge. It happens!

#rwby #rwde #robyn hill #murphy's thoughts and vibes on this shit (again)#is this a new tag #i haven't really written this well and it was sort of off the cuff so sorry if there's mistake #*mistakes #LMAO #i just wanted to lay my Thoughts out #i swear if even one person msgs me like 'but robyn DOES suck' im banishing you to the Spray Cheese Hell Dimension #also im tagging as rwde but its not rwde against the show (FOR ONCE??) so

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citrucentric · 3 years

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Mangosteen

Number one. They’re from southeast Asia, particularly Thailand. So outrageously divine in taste and mouth feel that they are reportedly known as the “Queen of Fruits”, which just makes me want a fruit dating sim more than I already did. Number two, they were banned in the United States up until 2007 out of fear that they’d contain fruit flies, and now they have to be yawn yawn yawn who gives a shit.

Okay. So here’s the thing. Everyone who’s talked to me about this fruit or written about it drones on and on about how good it tastes and how amazing it is. And, like, cool. Okay. But does that do anything for me if I can’t eat the thing? No. We have manufactured a scenario in which I am Queen Victoria desperately pleading my subjects to bring me this foreign delicacy and you all are sadly shaking your heads at me and going “That’s not going to happen, sorry. But man, you are hardcore missing out.”

So I’m executing you all.

If all I can do is look at it, then I’m going to god damn look. So let’s discuss. Does this look like the fruit of the gods, so devastatingly good it makes royals weep tears of yearning? No. It looks like a chunk of garlic shoved into a rotten plum. This is garlic. You are selling me garlic and telling me it’s ambrosia.

Is garlic good? You know it fucking is. But you know what it’s not? A fruit. So let’s see if we can get this roller coaster ride back on track. You know who loves garlic? Vampires. Right? Right. That’s why they’re all so edgy and depressed, because they too are Queen Victoria kept away from their single solace by virtue of the natural shelf life of a fruit and also deathly allergies.

I don’t think I talk nearly enough about vampires for how much I get paid (nothing). I know the whole Twilight craze made a lot of people sour on them for a while, but honestly go fuck yourselves if you think vampires aren’t still the hottest shit ever created. What, you’re telling me you don’t want a Victorian corpse man to corner you in a dark alley and talk about his existential angst at length before draining you of your life force and leaving you in a crumpled heap to resurrected again as a sexy immortal? You don’t even want to be a sexy immortal? God. Couldn’t be me.

There are a lot of good vampires. There are also a lot of stupid and annoying vampires. Honestly, it’d probably be more fun to talk about those, but my “top ten worst vampires of all time” list will have to wait because I’m already two images in and I could write three pages on my visceral hatred for Edward Cullen specifically. So here’s my top five.

1. Lestat de Lioncourt is unmistakably the sexiest fictional character of all time. Now, let’s not get this confused; this isn’t about any actor, be it Tom Cruise or whoever the fuck -- and it definitely isn’t about Stuart Townsend. Lestat as a character could make any actor attractive. It’s simply in his nature. I mean, he’s referred to as “The Brat Prince”. So straight out of the gate, anyone who knows me has suddenly figured out where I got the 45% of my personality they weren’t quite sure about. I am not ashamed. Moving on.

2. Damon Salvatore from Vampire Diaries. The books, not the show. Let’s avoid that topic. Damon is, regrettably, fantastic. For a stereotypical YA love triangle bad boy character, Damon’s personality is surprisingly well rounded. He’s a genuine bastard, but as the series goes on you realize there’s more good in him than he’s willing to admit, which is always an excellent setup. Also, daddy issues? In my vampires? It’s more likely than you think.

3. Now, I’m hesitant to put the same movie on this list twice and reveal just a little bit too much about my mental backdrop. But Claudia from Interview with the Vampire is just an altogether fantastically written character. She’s so compelling, tragic, and real. She’s the quintessential child vampire. You can’t write or talk about immortal babies without remembering her. Her problems really resonated with me as a child (though I personally would have been fine with staying young forever) and her death seriously affects me to this day. Really, she should be number one on this list. But she’s not, because I have problems.

4. Moving on to less high value vampire media. Is Blush Blush a good game? No. Is Stirling a good character? Maybe, if literally anyone else created him. But he is an ice skating vampire with a sparkly cape and tight pants, and I have a thing for scales.

5. Julius from Fire Emblem 4 Genealogy of the Holy War. Did you know Julius Fire Emblem is canonically a vampire? Well, for as 'canon' as a random novelization not even listed on the wiki is. I’m a little hesitant about this one cause the single piece of material containing this bizarre trait also sexualized him a lot more than I’m comfortable with considering his age (the proper amount would be zero, if you’re curious) but I just think it’s neat that the weird gremlin prince who’s 96% evil dragon also happens to eat people.

And that’s all the time we have for today. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what this article was about, of course. This smelly bulb of garlic needs a rating. And yet, I feel we are no closer to unlocking its secrets.

Vampires: 10/10 Mangosteen: 2/10 do better next time

#mangosteen #fruit #vampires #interview with the vampire #fire emblem

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sailorfailures · 5 years

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September 10th is Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury’s birthday!

So how can you celebrate?

☿ Rewatch or reread your favourite Mercury-centric chapter, episode, or musical! As the second Sailor Soldier introduced after Sailor Moon, she’s a main character throughout every season; try episode 008, her introduction episode; episodes 027 and 041, where Ami meets and later reunites with an apparent genius boy to whom she is both his rival and role-model; episode 062, where Ami gets the opportunity to fulfil her dream of studying abroad, but at the cost of leaving the Sailor Team; episode 071, where Ami faces off against Berthier in a chess match; episode 080, where a Droid manipulates Ami into hallucinating her friends have turned against her; episode 097, where Ami begins to feel like she’s a nuisance to the other Sailors, and is targeted for her Pure Heart; episode 151, where she is so moved by a music piece she finds online that she writes lyrics for it and endeavours to deliver them to its composer personally; and episode 191, where the Sailor Soldiers find themselves embroiled in a very different fight - a video game tournament, and it’s up to Ami to win first place. The plot of episode 062 was expanded on slightly in the musical Shin / Henshin - Super Senshi e no Michi - Last Dracul Jokyoku, making Ami a more prominent character in that musical. Lastly, she is, most notably, the main character in the animated short Ami-chan no Hatsukoi [“Ami’s First Love"], based on the manga special of the same name.

☿ Sailor Mercury has several official image songs across different canons you can play for her big day:

90s anime: Someday... Somebody...; Onaji Namida wo Wakeatte [“Sharing the Same Tears”]; Koibito ni wa Narenai Kedo [“Though We Can’t Be Together...”]; Ashita mo Mata Jitensha [“I’ll Cycle Again Tomorrow”] Live Action: Mi Amor; Yakusoku [“Promise”]; Crystal: a touch of rain Musicals: Drive Me The Mercury She was also given a new song in Dic’s English dub of episode 062 to replace Onaji Namida wo Wakeatte; Only A Memory Away.

Here’s a playlist of all these songs and other Sailor Mercury BGM cues!

☿ Fix yourself Ami’s favourite food, sandwiches! Ami herself has stated she loves them because she can eat them with one hand while reading/typing/studying with the other. So you could probably apply this logic to any one-handed finger-food. She seems particularly fond of cucumber sandwiches, but any filling would suffice - just steer clear of yellow-tail tuna, her least favourite food.

For sweets, another favourite food of hers is anmitsu, a combination of agar jelly, fruit, red bean paste, and “kuromitsu” treacle. And if you’re in the mood to bake, then here’s a tip Ami learned from her mother - use the engraved base of a drinking glass to pattern some sugar cookies.

☿ Ami’s hobbies are all befitting of a cold-seeming but warm-hearted genius schoolgirl; Why not relax in a bubble bath with that book you’ve been meaning to finish? If you’re already an avid reader, why not try something in the non-fiction genre, which Ami seems to prefer?

She’s also proficient at chess. Beginner or master, why not see if there’s a chess club in your area you could visit for the day, play a round online, or visit a park frequented by those looking for a match?

Ami is, of course, known for her talent at studying, but it’s not just to assure she gets into a good high school (and later, university). She is passionate about studying for self-improvement, including proficiency in multiple languages; teach yourself something new today in her honour. Go on a random-page wiki walk or watch a documentary or two. If you have a new hobby, or a hobby you’ve been neglecting for a while, now’s the time to do that boring practice or study you’ve been putting off that you know will help you improve in the long-run.

For sports, Ami is a talented swimmer. She prefers the pool to the beach, but you could visit either today for a dip in her name.

Ami’s most surprising hobby is video games, for which she has a competitive edge. Pick up a new title or host a casual competition online or with friends (if you throw a blue shell you’re dead to me). Why not play one of the many, many Sailor Moon titles for the Nintendo or other systems?

☿ Dress like Ami for the day! Ami’s style fits firmly in the “preppy” category, occasionally veering into vintage and couture, probably thanks to her rich doctor mother who drops diamond rings like it’s nothing. Common articles of clothing include cardigans, oversized coats with shorter skirts/shorts, and dresses. She typically dresses modestly, but does occasionally show off her legs. She doesn’t often wear trousers, but sometimes likes to dress down, showing a casual, sporty side. As expected, she wears a lot of blue, but also a lot of red, soft pinks, yellows, and pastel minty greens. Common accessories include jewelled brooches, belts, and headbands.

As Sailor Mercury, she wears simple blue studs that later turn into triple-studs, which she can press to summon her iconic “VR” goggles (though they are better described as augmented-reality). Anyone still have Google Glass?

☿ Troll somebody.

☿ Fav and read some Sailor Mercury fanart and fanfic on sites like Pixiv, Twitter, and AO3 - or contribute your own new content! Don’t forget to tag!

Feel free to reply and reblog with your own ideas of how you’re going to celebrate Ami’s day!

Happy Birthday, Ami!

#long post #Sailor Moon #Sailor Mercury #Ami Mizuno #Amy #these just keep getting longer and longer #Ami has so many episodes bc she was such a studio darling LMAO #these aren't even all of the episodes she was featured in they're just the better ones #I can't believe I spent all day doing this #but you know what? that's very ami of me to be so thorough #as always this post will be queued up two more times over the course of the next day or so along with other Mercury content #birthday

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egdocument · 5 years

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About the EvaGeeks wiki and why you shouldn't trust it, concerning mainly one user.

On the subject of EvaGeeks: Let’s talk about the manipulation of information on the wiki, and perpetuated “nastiness” on the forums that has persisted for several years now. THIS IS A MIRROR OF THIS GOOGLE DOCS FILE. (My twitter post.) You can share this post or the original document freely, use parts of it, etc. I want this document to simply serve as a warning to new Eva fans and those less familiar with EvaGeeks and their history - as well as an update for people who haven’t seen the current state of it.

NOTE: If you can’t read any of these images, these are Imgur albums containing all of the notable ones: https://imgur.com/a/z2mGvvX https://imgur.com/a/oAgufc3

The intent of this document is not to “take down” the wiki or forum, obviously. The intent is simply to inform people of the dangers of trusting this site with their Eva info. It might be the best we have but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve it. I would actually love to see a more community cultivated version of the site with less biased information, but I fear that will never happen. The anxieties of any one (or many) individual(s), which have prevented consistent change until now are well justified, and it is not within reason to blame the outsiders for never bothering to correct the myriad of issues with the wiki. Please extend kindness to other Eva fans and approach sites like EvaGeeks with the appropriate scrutiny, if you aren’t already. We’re divided enough as it is.

Before I begin, I must state: All of the information presented is publicly available, either through main pages, chat logs or history. And yes, the link to join the Discord server and verify the information given in this is publicly available too. I will not link it myself, as I want to avoid any possible harassment of the users I speak about here. Harassment is NEVER the answer in any kind of conflict. This behaviour I don’t believe can go unchecked, but that doesn’t mean the consequences of it should be any kind of conflict towards any user. I will be naming them here so you are aware, but I really do have to advise you, as a reminder, DO NOT HARASS OR ENGAGE WITH THEM. The rule of thumb is that these issues are more systematic than you might think, and blaming or taking it out on a singular person or even a whole group is never justified. Targeted harassment, even with reason, especially never helps to remedy an issue, because it forces the person to double down on their behaviour and beliefs. Causing unnecessary pain to a person is never okay, and the ‘offences’ committed here aren’t deserving of it in the first place. Please also consider the feelings of the people who use the server and EvaGeeks site; not everyone is your "enemy" or your "target" (and frankly, no-one should be) and despite the feelings echoed in this document, EG is not a monolith of a singular opinion or belief.

The purpose of this document is to inform people of the ways EvaGeeks fails objectivity and has existed to push narratives and exclude outsiders for far too long. With new people coming into the Eva fandom (and there of course being others who have been around for quite a while but just aren't aware) I feel like now is the best time I could write this.

As for what prompted this, an anonymous member of the Discord server contacted me regarding the behaviour of one particular user they were concerned about. Said user had expressed considerable bias in the past and was admitting to making large edits to pages on the wiki very recently, and the person who contacted me felt unequipped to bring the issue to light themselves.

A decent amount of this document will be dedicated to presenting said user's contributions - while I feel someone always had to address the EvaGeeks Problem at large, it doesn't help that this user has essentially incriminated himself here to expose the problem in its entirety.

There is quite a bit of pretense I must discuss before I get into the subject of the wiki pages themselves. I suggest you read all of it; the start of the wiki section will be in heading text if you’d like to skip to it. I’m sure information on the biased editing of wiki pages is privy to anyone who has used the server or the site itself, but at the server’s current status of 60 entire members, I know not everyone has, or is aware of what the problem actually is. Please note that the person who contacted me has requested anonymity and I will be complying. I will not include screenshots of their conversation with me, and anything I quote from them will be paraphrased so nobody can go full Sherlock and analyse their typing patterns. It sounds silly and it’s probably just paranoia, but they shared my concern here. Any conflict we can prevent is for the best. EvaGeeks, of course, has a culture very much promoting the idea that it’s the “number 1 source for all things Eva”, and for English speaking fans it definitely is - you’d be surprised the amount of people who still, after all these years, think this site is consistently reputable. For the sake of context, I’m going to assume that you are not all that familiar with the site’s history or nature, so I’m going to provide a little bit of information about it for those without any first-hand experience. The forums in particular cultivate a very join-us-or-get-out type community, where those who dare to go against the grain get incentivised to leave the site; they’ll claim this isn’t the case if asked and obviously the site is NOT a hivemind but that doesn’t mean it’s not insular. I can vouch for myself and many others who refuse to go in more than a few threads for fear of discussion turning particularly nasty. Even the server member who came to me about this has stated they feel it “might not be a hivemind but it sure feels that way.” Silencing dissent, even when officially-backed, is part of their culture. You don’t have to personally harass everyone who has an opposing thought to you for it to not feel acceptable, you just need to have a history of mocking those who do. If you want some previous, notable cases of “discussion turning nasty”, here’s some off the top of my head: 1. The AWL Incident - In which ADV VA of Rei and director of EoE dub, Amanda Winn-Lee, joined the forums for discussion and was promptly harassed by a user. Most of these messages have been deleted but you can view what remains of her post history here. 2. Recently brought to my attention: upon beginning translation of the Episode 24 drafts, EG forum user LiLi was subjected to incentive to leave, mostly in the form of homophobic disgust in replies to her thread or others they were mentioned in. Any information that goes against the cultivated narrative, even when it is literally officially licensed content, is only ever considered with a degree of reluctance. The fact these drafts co-exist with other pages concerned with this episode is almost a miracle. You can find plenty of repeat instances of the above if you want to (more to do with homophobia and misogyny than outward hostility, but honestly it’s the same thing.) A look at basically any EvaGeeks thread concerning pairings or the female characters will unearth a variety of awful comments from many other users, not that that would be surprising to anyone who has spent more than two minutes in the fandom. Now, of course, that’s very relevant to the topic at hand even if it doesn’t seem to be. The EG wiki and forum have quite a bit of overlap and circular influence on each other as you’ll see later if you aren’t already aware of it. For a short summary before we jump into things and analyse our subject of the day, this essentially means that anyone with an opinion or information the majority doesn’t like will never get in a position good enough to edit the wiki and keep the edits there. This has resulted in many articles filled with conjecture and fan speculation that serve to shut down other viewpoints, whether it’s intentional or not.

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ON THE TOPIC OF THE EVAGEEKS WIKI

The issue surrounding homophobia and downplaying of references to LGB content in Eva, through proxy of fan-dictated content control and translation is not a new one by any stretch of the imagination. I'm sure you're all very well aware. It’s far from the only issue present in the fandom but it will be our subject of conversation today. Any ‘one instance’ of this persistent behaviour from Eva fans is never going to be enough to summarise how insurmountable it really is, though, so today I instead draw your attention to one user of the wiki who goes by the name of FelipeFritschF and his recent, frequent updates to pages concerning Nagisa Kaworu.

[TOPIC: FELIPEFRITSCHF]

I must reiterate here: although this document is mostly concerned with this user and will contain a number of receipts from various places, it is NOT supposed to function as a hit piece or inspire any kind of mob. Leave this guy the hell alone, just be aware that he’s the one making most of these changes and isn’t a particularly impartial party, to put things lightly.

Now, before we really get into things, it should be stated that the EvaGeeks wiki requires approval to get your edits there, as stated at the bottom of the homepage, here:

This means that anyone making consistent edits to the wiki has in fact been approved, and this isn’t the result of lack of maintenance.

What you’ll find is that it is consistently Felipe making edits to the pages in question. Kaworu’s bio page, for example, is almost entirely edited by Felipe, which we can see from the “History” tab of the article.

This is barely half of his edits made in the last few days. Take a scroll through it yourself if you’re so inclined. This hilarious bit of waffle was added by Felipe a few days ago and since revised since by him, as shown here.

(As an added bit of comedy, the man who decided to add in the Japanese in the first place apparently didn’t know the difference between 好意 (kindness, what Kaworu actually says) and 行為 (action). It’s been fixed since but I still think it’s quite funny.) Now, as anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Japanese knows, 好き is not actually a very ambiguous word at all. I think it goes without saying, though, and I’m not here to have an argument about translations with you all (for the record, Kanemitsu’s now scarily infamous translation of this scene is perfectly fine with me in a vacuum, it’s just literally everything else surrounding it that’s the problem. Also, regretfully, I will have to speak about this nonsense later when it becomes relevant.) I’m using this as an example instead, to show how utterly ridiculous this guy’s additions to these pages are. He’s not even making a point here. It keeps going past this excerpt, and I suggest you read the whole thing (Kaworu’s page is linked above.) The point of bringing this up - and when I eventually discuss the Netflix translation when it’s necessary - is not to complain about semantics, although I’d argue that’s what’s happening in these articles, honestly. It’s just helpful when proving the actual point of the editor being incredibly unreliable and biased in how he phrases and omits things.

On the page dedicated solely to Shinji and Kaworu’s relationship (which is basically identical to their section on Kaworu’s page as far as I can tell), we can see that Felipe has also edited this several times, and even credits himself with expanding the version on the Evangelion Fandom Wiki now copy and pasted back to EvaGeeks.

The kind of “discussion” (very much not discussion when added to a wiki page supposedly presented as factual information, is it, frankly?) would be fine if it was happening in the EvaGeeks forum itself (and happen does it ever, but that doesn’t change the inappropriateness of this particular behaviour.) What I find disturbing is that in the past few days, this user has gone out of his way to make some already worrying articles even worse, presumably in an attempt to silence discourse, or add more fuel to the flames, surrounding the new Netflix translation. He has a whole page on that one, too, one which is very up-to-date in some regards and not at all in others, despite only being added a few days before me compiling this information. Frankly, going through this whole page on its own is a huge waste of my time considering how BLATANT it is in its biases, but I’ll do it anyway. It IS only a Theory and Analysis page (which is essentially an EvaGeeks free-for-all), but I think it’s quite bothering that the site even allows Theory and Analysis pages that consider only one viewpoint and are written by one person. The forum, presumably, is connected to the site for a reason.

I’m just going to link it here, for the sake of brevity. https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Kaworu%27s_lines_in_Episode_24 I suggest you read this before continuing. For a slight departure, the original theatrical Funimation dub of 3.0 is partially available for viewing online, although the audio is in cam quality so you may want headphones if you have plans to watch what’s there. The home media dub’s major changes are to issues with lore and localisation of jargon. While not directly mentioned in this article, it is implied from the subject that this is what it’s about; it’s been speculated that the very literal translation of Episode 24 in particular has come about due to Khara’s embarrassment with how Funimation’s theatrical dub of 3.0 handled Kaworu and Shinji’s relationship rather loosely. Despite these claims, every instance of the two sharing (honestly pretty awkward and unnecessary) flirtatious back-and-forths are still present in the home media version, barring an instance in the stargazing scene where Kaworu’s dialogue was translated even worse than it is in the final dub. If you don’t believe me, do the comparisons yourself. It may not be conclusive, but I think it puts mostly to death the rumour that “a Khara employee was there and saw how people laughed at the Kaworu and Shinji scenes and demanded it needed to be changed for the final release and now that’s being reflected on the new translation”, which is what it tends to boil down to.

It also goes without saying that NO ONE PERSON is “the most qualified” (holy shit, is this entry not even bothering to hide how biased it is) to translate an entire TV show, let alone something like Evangelion. Let us not forget that Kanemitsu’s claims that he respects “ambiguity” are not even true to begin with. EvaGeeks itself is a shining example of Eva fans, of which Kanemitsu is one and this is even discussed in the article, not being impartial enough to be tasked with discussing Evangelion! (There is obviously issue with citing the ADV translation as a source of all truth; if you read further into the thread on my tweet [the kitchen scene in EoE], I provide extra context for those interested, which I am aware has been spread around Discord and other places without that context included. Of course, I’m not an unbiased source either as you can probably tell from my tweets nor am I claiming to be, so please feel free to discuss these things in other places if you want. I’ve just got the tweets I have on hand here. Sorry about that.) Next, the repeat claim that this is “Khara’s licensed translation and thus the most accurate version” is pretty obviously nonsense; I’m sure I don’t need to point out to the audience that Japanese companies meddling in localisation has ended poorly in the past, or that Khara uses questionable translations from the dubs of the Rebuild films on licensed merch from time-to-time, or that the translation was fairly obviously not overseen or even QA’d by anyone following Kanemitsu’s translation work judging from the myriad of grammatical errors, missing subtitles and overly literal, poor sounding phrasing present in the final work. (Do I need to source this? Just watch the damn thing.) It’s not even like the ways it was translated have been consistent through different versions on Netflix; some were translated from Kanemitsu’s English to other languages judging from the obvious mistakes being present in multiple tracks, and some were barely even translated at all - the Italian version, the dub of which is mysteriously now missing, was so bad people were commenting that it sounded like Shakespeare or that it was translated word for word from Japanese. I dunno about you, the reader, but something about “Khara only bothered to check very rigorously the English version for their specific requests with the translation” doesn’t sound like what really happened to me. It’s more like they’ve just sent a translator they have worked with before to work on a project of theirs. Apologies for engaging in speculation, but that’s all this whole article is anyway. It’s just something I noticed from skimming through the page, but I find it quite interesting that Felipe makes a blanket statement about the excerpts from Schizo and Prano “being wrongly attributed to Anno” and then the source he provides for that is just someone on the EvaGeeks forums saying the same thing with little proper sourcing, when that was never really the intent of their post anyway. An interview summary exists where Anno has stated he wrote both books himself, and if you haven’t seen it, here it is. It’s obviously flimsy at best, but Tokyo Otaku Mode is an officially licensed Evangelion distributor. If Felipe is going to parade around his love for the Very Official Khara Subtitles Of NGE he can at least extend the same gratitude to other forms of official information; I mean, frankly, this article is about as reputable as anything in the Netflix subtitles are. Lastly, another thing I found quite interesting is his strange love for the ADV VHS subtitles. I really, really think this is obvious, but subtitles changed in later versions of the ADV release were changed because they were deemed incorrect. I don’t have sources for this so take it with an absolute grain of salt but I believe there’s even a commentary track on the Platinum release where the translator talks in depth about why she translated episode 24 as she did. It’s not exactly a better word than Kanemitsu’s, but if we’re considering translator’s word as law for whatever reason like Felipe is here, we might as well consider hers, too, right? Oh, and actually, have a look at the sources used on that article. Most of the sweeping statements he makes have absolutely no backing beyond what he’s piecing together from old and irrelevant interviews (when discussing the Netflix translation) as well as...linking Kanemitsu’s job history...I mean, sure, the guy is qualified, but do I really need to go over this again?

INTERMISSION: Speaking of sources, you might have noticed from perusing these articles yourself that EvaGeeks has a very low standard for sourcing to begin with, which is likely partially to blame for how things like these articles can even exist in their current forms in the first place. A site that doesn’t have such a lenient policy on sourcing, though, is Wikipedia. Felipe, of course, cannot stay within the confines of the fandom and has decided to have a go at providing some information to Kaworu’s actual Wikipedia page as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaworu_Nagisa&action=history Felipe is far less to blame for the state of Kaworu’s Wikipedia article, which is honestly pretty bad to begin with. There have been plenty of other people editing this one and the rather homophobic “Relationship with Shinji” part of the article has been present for a while before he started editing it. (The fact this article literally uses someone being explicitly homophobic as a source is not surprising for Eva fandom, but holy shit, am I disgusted every time I reopen this page. I'm not even going to bother figuring out who added that one.) I do wonder if his reasons for not desecrating this page the same way he has on EvaGeeks is because he knows it wouldn’t stay up for particularly long. Reminder that he is also the main editor of the same pages on the Evangelion Fandom Wiki, which is essentially a copy and paste of EvaGeeks. Of note is this little tidbit I found:

This is what Felipe then deleted, as this is apparently not relevant, despite literally being about Kaworu’s relationship with Shinji. I mean, I’m sure this could have been put in somewhere else and perhaps phrased a bit better, but why the hell would you outright delete that kind of information? It’s supposed to be a wiki, not your own personal opinion chamber. BTW, this is the thread post he links as a rebuttal to that person adding it, and it’s probably for the best it’s presented here with context: https://forum.evageeks.org/post/886380/NGE-Ep24-Script-First-and-Second-Drafts/#886380

He clearly thinks he has a point here, but I’m not sure what exactly he’s going for. Basically everything he’s saying is conjecture, and while I can kinda see where he’s coming from it sure does completely fail to address the intent as explained in this interview. “Read the whole interview” is very dismissive, especially when the interview in full doesn’t exactly contradict the initial point. It does say quite a bit, how he will disregard official information when his wiki articles themselves are full of nothing but rambling.

Here’s another relevant and quite funny Discord screenshot:

Felipe is making a pretty hypocritical statement here. I’m sure he does have a point - there’s probably been quite a bit of vandalism happening to these pages which isn’t exactly surprising (again, Eva fans are not often rational people, please be honest with ourselves). That being said, I think there’s a particular irony to the man who has written many very, very long paragraphs on the wiki pages he has control over trying to stop people from thinking there might be anything but “ambiguity” between a pair he doesn’t like.

In the case anyone reading has forgotten: the purpose of a wiki should be to provide unbiased information on the material it discusses. Obviously the repeating of “innocuous” statements about how “ambiguous” it all is, in the vain of EG’s now made fun of ‘we don’t know what he really meant by that’ and ‘why Kaworu is so intent for Shinji alone to have happiness remains a mystery’ are pretty obviously intended to downplay the very, very obvious “subtext” and leagues of official information provided.

It kinda goes without saying that WE CAN INFER THESE THINGS FROM THE ACTUAL INFORMATION ON THE WIKI, you don’t need to add a disclaimer to everything going “well we just don’t know what it means!” (even in instances when we do know what it means, but that’s almost besides the point). You don’t need to add in these statements, unless you’re trying to sway people into ignoring what's presented by the show. If you want people to draw their own conclusions, you are in fact capable of presenting information without commentary - in fact, that's kind of the whole point of a wiki. Yes, Eva is ambiguous at times, but talking down to people like they need this reminded to them constantly is an absolute waste of time and energy. It’s almost as if the editor has been trying to cultivate a narrative and has been getting away with it because you can’t really prove these statements are biased unless you do the research. (I mean, you can from context, but it certainly hasn’t done much to get them removed, has it?)

You can view the editing history of any given EvaGeeks article on their own pages if you want to see just how many times these things have been added in by Felipe. And obviously, no, it isn’t just his fault - there are other users, several, in fact, credited with the editing of these pages, many of the edits serving the same point as Felipe’s paragraphs on “ambiguity”. He’s just the most concrete example of a biased editor. Also, yes, I do recognise this has all happened within the few days post the release of Eva on Netflix and that it was likely prompted by that. But we know at least one of the mods is aware of it given how Felipe talks about it in the EvaGeeks Discord server. It’s also quite funny I’ve seen people linking these pages like they're some kind of "gotcha" in response to tweets discussing the new translation, as if they haven’t been invented out of thin air in the past few days.

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Now, frankly I’m sick of staring at EvaGeeks, and if you want any more information on these articles and others with instances of the same thing happening, you can have a look at it yourself.

Originally, this document contained far more screenshots from Felipe. My desire for this to not turn into a hit piece has lead me to remove a great deal of these messages. I do suggest, if you want to, you join the server and make your own conclusions. Even beyond what the member told me about I found myself agreeing with him fairly frequently when he was being reasonable - this doesn't change my concerns regarding the presentation of information on the wiki, though. The anonymous member was mostly concerned about this user having basically all the control over Kaworu's wiki articles, seeing as he has far too high of a stake in everything. Not all of these messages are inflammatory or even necessarily bad or wrong, but I find that to anyone privy to the “revelations” about the EvaGeeks Wiki here, they paint an interesting story, to say the least.

It’s starting to sound like he perhaps has just had some bad experiences. The following few messages are part of the same conversation.

I find it interesting how he flipflops from not understanding anything about the whole Eva Parallelism Theory Thing to suddenly being all for it when it concerns things not about the gay stuff.

Comments on how ‘manipulative’ Kaworu is

Because Kaworu is very pro instrumentality, and this definitely isn’t just a theory, I mean, it’s even talked about on the wiki, guys! (And I’m not even touching on the yes-men in this server.) Oh.

Oh no.

For the record, this page is clearly still under construction, and to point out any one thing about how bad it is would be essentially just poking a stick at a beehive. At least this one is so absolutely poorly phrased it’s doubtful anyone could mistake it for any kind of proper information. I also find it incredibly funny whenever pages on the wiki use the forum as a source. Relevant: Qmisato’s post on his defending of Shinji sexually assaulting Asuka: https://qmisato.tumblr.com/post/183082754484/yesterday-i-was-invited-to-evageeks-official

In response much later. I really can’t see it as being framed as “fun teenage romance”, also why is the word romance suddenly being used to talk about Asuka and Shinji after the whole debacle with Kaworu? He’s said before he doesn’t see Asuka and Shinji’s relationship as romantic, either (and GOOD! It’s not!)

(Also - it’s not sexual assault when Shinji tries to kiss Asuka in her sleep, but it IS when Kaworu does the exact same thing to Shinji? Make up your mind, dude.) Turning this sort of thing into Shipping Discourse is frankly not the right way to go about it, but it is perhaps notable that despite what Felipe says, he is in fact an Asushin shipper. (I don’t feel the need to post all these images in the document as its cluttered enough as it is.) At this point it’s rather adhom and I feel irrelevant but I do think it’s relevant that through all of Eva fandom, those who have the most issue “understanding” (more like accepting, I suppose) LGB subtext, are those who also are really attached to a fairly morally grey het pairing themselves. Again, seriously, there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of this and assuming the worst of someone because of the pairings they like isn’t my intent here, it’s more that I find this pattern has always been prevalent and it’s bothering me I’m seeing it STILL in 2019. ESPECIALLY from a wiki editor who inserts so much of that into his work on the site.

You’re probably sick of reading all of this (and I’m getting sick of writing it), so I’ll wrap up the part on Felipe quickly: Yes, I just dedicated several pages to screenshots of mostly innocuous (when considered out of context) stuff one guy had to say. I feel more obsessive than I’d like to admit, and frankly I have no business with this person. We’ve spoken twice on EvaGeeks threads if you can even call it speaking. This task was given to me by a member of the community who was concerned about his behaviour but didn’t want to publicise it themself and I feel a little out of my depth here. I at least hope we can come to the conclusion I wanted to here, that I fear may have been lost in this whole great mess of language - no one person should have THIS much sway over the state of a wiki that’s supposed to be impartial, especially when they have not been quiet with their biases in the first place, and it is the failure of everyone involved in the maintaining of the wiki itself that this sort of behaviour has been allowed in the first place.

The guy can have whatever opinions and theories he wants, obviously. I don't give a shit; he's not even that bad compared to the grand majority of Eva fans to begin with. Don't think this document exists to "cancel" him or thoughtpolice, I truly, genuinely, do not care what is said inside this server anymore. It doesn't concern me. I mean, it's a fucking cartoon, for god's sake. This only becomes an issue when opinions are expressed on a wiki, for reasons I have reiterated many times now. EvaGeeks lacks the objectivity required to function as a wiki and I'm trying to make that clear.

[ON THE TOPIC OF THE EVAGEEKS WIKI AND COMMUNITY IN GENERAL] As for who can edit the wiki and what they’re allowed to say: As you can see from the nature of people’s posts in this thread, you’re given access to do very specific things, and although I haven’t bothered going through the process myself (as I find it would be quite redundant, trying to fix such an inherently broken system), I’m guessing it’s very easy to get your edits reversed if you post anything they don’t like. Take that as conjecture of my own.

I have it in decent faith that the approval process involves whoever of the mod team is there at the time coming to an agreement based on people’s applications. Obviously this is a decent idea for a system, and I’m sure there are legitimate reasons as to why EG has to be locked down as much as it is; judging from the state of other fanon wikis I’ve seen there’s likely to be a decent amount of vandalism, especially in a fandom as passionate as Eva’s is. However, I think it’s fair to say that the complete restriction of updating these pages to those approved by a mod team who, while I’m sure are very reasonable people overall, certain individuals of which have displayed concerning behaviour and biases of their own in the server during my brief look around. I won’t be naming anyone in particular from the mod team as I don’t feel like I need to add any more targets of shame to this already horrifically negative document, but I have gotten the general impression (in case it needed confirmation, following the remaining of these specific changes on the wiki) that some mods, not all, aren’t the most nonpartisan individuals themselves. I do happen to be decent acquaintances with at least one of them so, again, please don’t consider this a personal attack.

My concern here plainly is that I don’t think a group of mods who have routinely failed to prevent events like the ones mentioned earlier, nor seem to have much of an issue with the myriad of examples of people being openly homophobic and misogynistic on their own forum are really in the position to be choosing who of the Privelleged Few get to control the Eva meta-narrative here. As I was writing this, I was alerted to the state of the primary Japanese Evangelion wiki as a source of cross referencing for what these things can look like if done right. If you take a moment to browse it, even if you don’t speak any Japanese and have to use an automatic translator it should be very obvious how something like this differs greatly from EvaGeeks. Kaworu’s page, for a relevant example, doesn’t have present any of the nonsense statements about ambiguity or overwritten descriptions of everything. The wiki respects the reader’s intelligence enough to know that it is, in fact, a wiki, and thus tries its best to be factual. His page is fairly decent in size and states things we know are fact rather than theory. There’s no attempt made to influence or confuse.

Oh, and just in case you think the mods aren’t actually active or present enough to know what Felipe is doing, his particularly awful page on Kaworu in episode 24 got a shoutout from the official Twitter account two days ago.

If you are going to join the Discord server to verify things yourself* or do further digging, again, please be cautious of other users inside and do your best not to start anything. I am an occasional contributor to the forums and I’d prefer not to get my account flagged or to experience harassment myself, if any EvaGeeks members are still reading this document and disagree with my conclusions. I may not have posted much since I joined earlier this year, but despite everything I find the forums to be valuable for connecting with other fans and have enjoyed the positive feedback to my SIRP translation! Those who have spoken to me there have been very kind (including Felipe himself), and I must reiterate that this is not targeted at the whole site, or even at just Felipe. I simply believe there is more than enough evidence to suggest there have been consistent, systematic failures to recognise and correct the utter lack of objectivity present. I seriously don’t have any personal issues or beef with this guy, either. I wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t someone else who came to me about it.

*It should be noted that the person who spoke to me has pointed out certain members have been concerned about outsiders joining and screenshotting the chat. They may remove the public link to join if this document were to cause a huge issue. I will leave the server following the publication of this document and I have no plans to join again. I can’t speak for those who may join of their own accord but I do hope people have heeded the disclaimer I made initially.

Thankyou to all the people who have extended their own kindness and support during the creation of this document, to the anonymous person who tipped me off and the lovely Eva analysts I know for offering their own experiences with EvaGeeks and further supplementary information. If this whole document reads like the product of a bad mental health day, I guess it is. Also yes I know how hilarious it is that I’ve spent all this time creating what essentially amounts to an EVAGEEKS CALLOUT POST but I mean. Someone had to say it. Why not make an utter buffoon of myself in the process?

#Mirroring this for the sake of people concerned with their privacy when accessing google docs #reading this back theres a lot of bad wording but whatever. itll do

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jackadeney · 4 years

Text

My Urban Utopia

Introduction

Creating a city under regular constraints comes with its own unique challenges. Whether it be the terrain, population size or accessibility, a utopian design must always be shackled to reality through some form or another. These constraints grow and fluctuate alongside each other, intertwined by the systems that equally constrain us as humans. We must ask therefore, when is the best time to attempt the design of an urban utopia? I would argue, at a time like this.

The planet is being crippled by a deadly pandemic, yet already we can see that the world has been given a rebirth. Businesses and social integrations begin to timidly poke their heads from quarantine, and it has become clear that they will never function in the same way again. The global economy is weak and international cooperation is even weaker. Why then would this be a good time to build a city?

Firstly, our values have changed. News has been flooded with how clear the waters are looking in the seas across continents. People will return to the beaches finally able to wade into the water and observe the fish swimming between their toes. New satellite images have emerged of our planet earth that have never been clearer. Meteorologists can look at the skies with unbelievable clarity, and those living in our new-age mega-cities are giddy on the high oxygen levels in the air. We now understand how important it is for us to cooperate across streets, neighbourhoods, towns, cities, countries and internationally. The World Health Organisation moves around the world like a guardian angel, whilst governments send and receive care packages, never surrendering the fight against a protectionist strategy. Most importantly of all however, a quality that stands well above all others mentioned, is that we understand how much we value each other. It has brought families closer together, and reformed communities that were once crumbling through lack of social cohesion. The virus has rebuilt the ties that really mater. Not the economic ties, but the social ties built of love and compassion.

Therefore, we find these values at the forefront of our minds when building our urban utopia. As we have been given these values as a result of the pandemic, it only seems fair to also have the associated economic constraints. The biggest one of which is that there is very little finance available for explorative urban development. As a result, the build must be as cost efficient as possible. One would hope that in making the build cost efficient we also make it sustainable, consequentially there is no reason to assume that this does not align with our intention of observing the environment in the project.

Inspiration and Design

There are two architects and two cities from which I take my inspiration, we will begin with the architects.

Rafael Viñoly, an architect that is very close to my heart, is the creator of NYUAD. He has designed buildings all around the world, each as innovative as the last. He works hard to infuse the green of nature with high rise buildings constituted of glass. He is not afraid to break the rules, and as a result develops features that have won him a number of awards, some for the most attractive buildings in the skyline, and some, regrettably, for the least attractive.

One of the pieces I appreciate most is the ‘possible’ building. Although it has not yet been built, it is an office space intended to be inhabited by Facebook’s HQ. It reaches far above all other buildings in midtown Manhattan, and features an almost jenga style stacking of floors. Most importantly we note the combination of plants and glass. With the sun bouncing off the glass, turning it a crystal blue, the colour makes for an amazing contrast with the natural green.

https://archinect.com/news/article/150139992/images-surface-of-facebook-s-potential-new-tower-in-manhattan-designed-by-rafael-vi-oly

Another aspect of his that I enjoy is the large open spaces. Below is the Sky Garden, featured in the Walkie Talkie building in London. The building actually won the Carbuncle Cup in 2015, a prize awarded to the worst building completed in the year before. Despite this slightly unkind award, the Sky Garden features a place of luxury, making the most of the London Skyline. Again, it features a lot of greenery, which makes the large space feel smaller and more intimate- all the while maintaining its class.

https://www.designmynight.com/london/bars/city-of-london/sky-garden-bars

I would utilise Viñoly’s skills in designing the downtown financial district. As his speciality is in high-rise buildings, it makes sense that he designs a large amount of the financial centre. Designing buildings from glass, yet making sure to provide a large emphasis on nature will keep the environment in the forefront of our minds as we look at it. Contemporary brutalist concrete structures for me is a sign that the natural part of our city has been forgotten, and so one of the main priorities is avoiding large concrete structures.

Frank Gehry is the Banksy of architecture. His abstract flowy designs stick out like a sore thumb in otherwise unexciting city landscapes. His work has premonitions of Constant and Picasso in distorting shapes to make buildings. There are many twists in his buildings that aim to disrupt the hard lines of walls and faces. It makes his buildings far less invasive to the spectator, and they feel fresh amongst the cookie cutter construction of suburban and urban regions.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battersea_Power_Station_copy.jpg

https://igsmag.com/press-releases/permasteelisa/permasteelisa-and-frank-gehry-set-to-transform-battersea-power-station-with-complex-facade/

Above is Battersea Power Station, a site in London that was decommissioned long ago. Below it is how Gehry attempts to redesign the area. He would be a great assistance in designing the more residential areas, those that are not driven by business and finance but rather leisure and pleasure. It is clear from the design that there is no project too big for Gehry’s imagination, and this assists one of my greatest objectives. Rather than build the city on a new site, taking land and space away from the previous inhabitants, I would aim to transform an old city. This again links back to the idea of environmental protection, recycling and rejuvenation. Gentrification is fundamental in a world where space is finite, and utilising the creative minds of Gehry and Viñoly allows you begin your city on any canvas, not only a blank one.

One of the first cities that provides me with inspiration is Singapore. It is a new city that can provide something for everybody. It is frequently rated as one of the best places to reside, and has also been very successful in pulling in business from some of the biggest multinational corporations. The tall buildings with flowy designs cup the marina, a feature of all modern cities. The downtown area spans the majority of the city, yet there is still space for a China town, India town and Korea town to function both independently in terms of cuisine but interactively in terms of community. Singapore welcomes gifts of culture from its neighbours and its inhabitants, meaning that all those that arrive to Singapore are not forced to leave their heritage behind. It boasts one of the best transit systems in the world, and some of the cleanest streets.

https://www.floornature.eu/singapore-the-skyline-of-the-garden-city-designed-to-be-the-city-of-the-future-9945/

Due to its amazing features, it is undoubtedly a city of luxury. The Marina Bay Sands looks over the whole city and is one of the most famous casinos in the world. The golf clubs, horse riding and Formula One are all legendary in Singapore. Predictably therefore, Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world to design (4thmost expensive in Asia). This therefore puts aspects of its design slightly out of reach.

It also faces a unique advantage over other contemporary cities. Singapore is both a country and a city. It therefore has the opportunity to control exactly who enters and leaves the area. For cities such as London, controlling who visits from abroad is one thing, yet there are also 59 million other British citizens that can come and go to London as they wish. The stress that this puts on the infrastructure is massive. With Singapore having complete control over this aspect of immigration, it has a large advantage over most others.

https://mapa-metro.com/en/Singapore/Singapore/Singapore-MRT-map.htm

Putting the luxuries of Singapore aside, there are some main qualities that we would like to take from its design. The transportation system is efficient, subtle, attractive and cheap. It spans the whole of the city, but most importantly, it is not invasive aesthetically. We could go for the other option, which would be to have the metro as an architectural feature of the city, such as in Dubai. However, I feel this is not the most efficient use of space, and often requires large concrete constructions for the tracks and supports. For that reason Singapore provides an excellent model for city connectivity.

Singapore airport is also the most amazing airport on the planet. It is a luxury, but it personifies everything that we aim to achieve within our urban utopia. It is called the Jewel, and has an indoor waterfall and train track. The tropical setting of trees and vines with the water feature inside the main hall is an aesthetic that forces nature to the forefront of your imagination. It has a calming and relaxing effect whilst also looking truly impressive. It is futuristic, and yet strangely familiar. Exactly how we wish the city to appear.

https://fortune.com/2020/01/07/the-case-for-designing-beautiful-airports-its-about-the-experience/

Having a strong airport also symbolises the importance of connectivity. Thousands of people will move through there every day and being sure to make this as easy and efficient as possible is of the utmost importance.

The second city that inspires our urban utopia is Sydney, Australia. Not only are the docks and beaches of Sydney beautiful, it has a very interesting suburban structure. Sydney has a diaspora split by suburb into different cultures and origins. It has challenges born through conflict between different suburbs (or boroughs), some of which lead to high levels of crime in certain areas. Despite this, the suburban structure has resulted in a diversity of community that we would like our city to represent. One of the main reasons for the increased crime rate is the lack of funding that goes into the areas. Some of the suburbs are simply deprived. It is also the case that the public transport infrastructure doesn’t reach all of the suburbs. We would make sure that each community is directly connected with the inner city and have as many connections as possible between suburbs. Even using the word borough has a tendency to separate the suburbs into certain regions. Although we want people of all different cultures to feel comfortable within their community, we aim to provide little reason to distinguish between different parts of the suburb.

Sydney makes good use of its natural resources with large parks and big open green spaces. Much of this is because the suburbs are slightly further away from the city centre than in other cities. Having the ability to provide distance between residences and work areas stops different regions of the city from suffocating each other. It also allows planners to put parks and marinas in the areas which would normally be built on for manufacturing or residences. By having the suburbs slightly further than usual from the city centre, yet connecting them extremely well using our underground infrastructure, we are able to have the space and continuity, whilst also lowering the level of suburban deprivation.

The constraints

How do we do this as cost efficiently as possible? Already I have chosen some architects that are extremely expensive, yet having the ability to transform old ‘brown-belt’ areas into new urban regions is likely to reduce costs through government subsidies. Having a large, attractive financial district is fundamental for any contemporary city design, and through our explanation I feel that it will draw in lots of trade from all over the world. Singapore has been extremely successful in doing this, with Dyson being one of many companies choosing to move their headquarters there within the past few years.

With the CoVid-19 era not in any rush to end, it would be difficult designing a city based on tourism. For that reason, the Formula One and Casinos of Singapore would not be a good path to follow. This is another reason why we look towards Sydney as a model. There are aspects of old and new within the city, and it functions amongst many of the income sectors. It has huge financial input from the financial district, domestic tourism (which will not be impeded for as long as international tourism) education, marine and financial services. People go to Sydney for so many reasons other than tourism. This is backed up by the fact that Sydney is the largest city in Australia without being the capital.

Another constraint that we have touched upon briefly, is how to develop a cultural identity within the city. It was something that puzzled Lispector about Brasilia, and continues to puzzle urban planners to this day. Our solution is ambitious- we take the international approach, and attempt to make the city a place for everybody. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are great examples of places that have managed to merge an ex-pat culture into their own culture. With the UAE being only 11% Emirati residents, it is fundamental that those that come to live in the country bring with them their own traditions. You would expect this to cause huge levels of cultural conflict within the different communities, yet Abu Dhabi shows that both powerful and rich communities can operate harmoniously with each other. The areas interlinked well by public transport will help set a scene of collaboration and cultural sharing. Reducing rivalry and instead planning on using state resources such as healthcare and education to fortify inter-region communication is one of the main objectives of the city design.

How should the city feel?

I don’t desire for the city to be romanticised by the likes of Lispector or Lefebvre. I want it to be safe and prosperous. The problem with a city such as Brasilia, creating ‘insomnia’ and breathing almost like a human, is that all of this means nothing if people cannot safely inhabit its streets. We want to limit the prejudice caused by women not feeling secure walking the roads in the evening, or people sleeping homeless on the streets due to not being able to afford housing. These will likely always be issues of any city, but prosperity and connectivity are two key ingredients into moving towards resolving them. By creating prosperity (and equal prosperity), it reduces the need for welfare and homelessness. It allows the quality of schools and healthcare to increase, whilst reducing the desperate resort to petty crime. Connectedness forms a sense of community and provides a sense of strength in numbers. Where petty crime is concerned, it has been proven that community watch schemes are surprisingly affective in reducing the number of thefts, muggings and burglaries. Having people looking out for each other is caused by a well-designed suburban area aimed at increasing the incentive to protect the community, whether through shared schooling, public spaces that residents can be proud of, or having high quality public transport affordable to everybody.

Yi Fu Tuan talks of making a space a place. And this leads to the question; how malleable do I wish the city to be? The obvious answer is that you want for people to be able to make the city their own, and therefore spaces should be left with ambiguous intent for people to use them as they wish. I enjoy this idea, yet I also understand from my studies that there is always one dominant party. Having a city full of different cultures sadly will invite conflict, as that to a certain extent is the ugly truth. We therefore have to design a city in attempt to limit the opportunity for conflict and rivalry through connecting infrastructure such as tram networks. As a result, providing communities with a public good to share and divide may not at first be a good idea. For that reason, the city will seem less malleable, and each community will be encouraged to culturally interact, but will not be forced to divide resources. There will be shared spaces such as parks, but the utmost precautions will have to be taken in order to ensure people’s safety within those areas. Singapore has been extremely successful in keeping communities of different cultures close to each other. Hosting different cultural events and inviting other communities to share the celebration seems to be a relatively successful means of forming amicable relationships.

How should the city sound?

Kendall, Harmon and Jacobs are some of the authors that have provided us with information on soundscapes of cities. They all have the varying opinions on how we are drawn to different sounds, whether consciously or not, but there is one fundamental aspect that they all agree on. The soundscapes of our modern cities are dramatically different to those of the past. I wish to revitalise some of the sounds of the past. Schafer, in his contributions to the World Soundscape Project noted that the sound of the Vancouver Cathedral travelled only one tenth of what it used to previously. Although I feel like it would be of great benefit to some to have the church bells ring far across the city, I also feel that in our modern day and age it is slightly inappropriate to force a certain religious symbolism upon the whole urban population. For that reason, I will focus on having the birdsongs as the first violin for my city symphony. It is closely associated with many people’s idea of a utopia, and it is offensive to very few, if not nobody. It also links closely to the idea of sustainability and interaction with the environment, which we wish to keep as a common thread throughout the city’s design.

In order to sustain an urban ecosystem suitable for songbirds, pollution and concrete mass must be kept to a minimum. As you can see from cities such as Shanghai and New York, there are rarely any birds besides pigeons as a direct consequence of the over-urbanisation. In Shanghai, it has been rumoured that they shoot the birds in order to prevent them from multiplying. Having songbirds is a great indicator that the city is healthy and environmentally friendly. Once the birds that we associate as pests, such as pigeons or ravens begin to dominate the soundscape, this is a sign that we are losing our way.

There should always be areas for people to move and play. This will generate human sound as well. With only the birdsong, as beautiful as it is, it does not provide a completely representative symphony. People should be welcomed to make noise with bars and restaurants encouraging people to sit outside, like a bustling Parisian rie.Having the marina and trees surrounding the already beautiful buildings should encourage this to happen.

To conclude

In summary, there are certain objectives that take priority in the construction of our urban utopia. Financial constraints can put a serious burden on the creative construction of cities, yet born from its challenges also come innovative solutions. Prioritising integration of the environment, connectivity and cultural collaboration makes for a more rounded and encompassing urban utopia. The aim is to make everybody feel happy and safe whilst also incorporating the lessons that we have learnt from the pandemic. The world has conceded that the CoVid-19 outbreak will change the way we live forever. As a result, it seems only fitting that we equally change the cities we live in.

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badmousestuff-blog · 5 years

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Unheard Voices of WANA

PragerU: The most persecuted population in the world are Christians

Prager U is correct.

SUBSCRIBERS: 0

Ok, jokes aside, this is a serious topic, I hope you watch till the end.

Last month CPGB-ML released this reactionary article, it’s been a common trend of their online presence and really stinks, but then I also remind myself I am in a left that is no longer respectful of these vulgar, outdated gestures, and the left of today truly is a very progressive bunch. We fight for the rights of gendered minorities, stand with people at the forefront of racial oppression, far outside simply the economic realms. They say that oppressions align, and when you look at the left of today, you really see that.

But as time goes on, there can be a tendency for our viewpoints to become clouded with a prevailing dogma.

This is a video about one of them.

This is West Asia [or “the Middle East”] and North Africa, a region collectively termed WANA or MENA, it is home to many different ethnicities that are not of Arab Origin. Some you know, some you don’t. Within here are numerous ethno-religious minorities. Assyrian Christians, Coptic Christians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, just to name a few.

2 years ago, Caabu did a study to find out the nature of racial profiling in the UK. Only 1% of respondents listed the Middle East as being linked with Christianity.

Image:https://i.imgur.com/JHYsKPj.png

Source:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/racial-profiling-british-people-muslims-arabs-support-security-anti-terrorism-attacks-survey-caabu-a7966666.html

The on the ground reality is that millions of Christians live and breathe in the Crescent, it is after all the birthplace of the Yahweh religion.

Contrary to the very bland, pastiche Christianity that tends to fill the Western temples, Christianity in the WANA is distinctive in being very diverse. To the followers, the faith is particularly sacred and, in many times, a physical part of their identity, in a similar way to how Irish Catholicism in the north might be.

Images to use:

http://www.just-images.com/media/k2/items/cache/768cfd00cdf8b0455e0493699392583d_XL.jpg?t=-62169984000

There are maybe somewhere around 16 million Christians in West Asia, a number that has been gradually decreasing throughout the 20thcentury, and largely this is due to a considerable amount of persecution and repression, including genocide, and within all this, they have very little access to representation.

Source:https://harpers.org/archive/2018/12/the-vanishing-christians-in-iraq-syria-egypt/

Which to PragerU’s credit, they’re right, when we’re talking about religious minorities, Christians are one of the most highly persecuted. But I know that these people are being insincere here. Dennis and his entourage represent, or at least promote, is what could only be described as the white man’s Christianity, the collective Western tradition of Imperial, Crusading, Nation conquering religion of Manifest Destiny and Got Miht Us [what is this? Couldn’t find anything on google]. Malcolm X was not wrong when hecalled Christianity a white man’s religion - that was all he could see at the time. And all of these people’s religious conceptions would appear highly unorthodox if they were to ever go and visit these groups.

Yet how often is it that you see right-wing commentators and outlets picking up on Christian oppression in the global south to regurgitate their hatred and vitriol and encourage further discrimination against Muslims in the west [Show following tweets]:

https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/953302360637493248

https://twitter.com/KTHopkins/status/1058426287948218368

https://twitter.com/StefanMolyneux/status/993593881341059072

Just a quick search on Breitbart, and you’ll see how many times they’ve covered the plight of Assyrians and Copts alike [show screenshots]:

https://i.imgur.com/VM3DnAg.png

https://i.imgur.com/CMi3eyo.png

And when right-wingers do resort to the lowest of the low of arguments (whataboutism) in order to get their points across, the Left responds in a very appropriate and effective manner… (gurning)

“What about the crusades?”

I can’t be the only one thinking this…

There’s a contradiction here that we need to talk about.

On the one hand, we’re advocates of intersectionality and dynamics of oppression, looking out for the nuances of thought and removing ourselves from binary choices and assumptions. But on the other, we can’t help getting away from very Euro-centric conceptions of various topics. In other words, we do choose binaries here.

Christian = Oppressor

Muslim = Victim

Many Western leftists tend to look at religion through this lens. They incorrectly view Christianity as a global oppressor, completely overlooking the many cases where this isn’t the case and thus ignoring many groups who are severely marginalized, particularly when it comes to some indigenous groups like Assyrians and Copts.

When discourse gets going, it picks up like a steamroller. And after a while, we forget about the fact that we’re just regurgitating a dogma.

For us, “Islamophobia is racism” might be fine to say, because we realize that in Western society, Islam is heavily racialized and so those that may “look Muslim” are also targeted. But often, expressing this to a WANA Christian can rightly come off as reductionist, especially when that’s the few times they’re given attention here in the West. Add this onto the fact that when WANA Christians want to speak up about their oppression, they’re often accused of being racist themselves, along with other accusations of bad faith.

how the criticism and mentioning of muslim persecution towards christians [?] is all seen as islamophobia = racism which to them is fine but to us its scrutiny - the wording of the first line

Just as Islam has largely been racialized in the west, the same formula applies to Muslim majority nations regarding how Christianity is viewed. When attacks are caused in the west by Islamists, Muslims in the area are rightly quite terrified and anxious about upcoming reprisals that might be made against them. We do not, however, see why an attack from a White Supremacist against Muslims would also result in a similar effect to Christians in the East. Even though Religion might not even be uttered in these atrocities, Anti-West rhetoric has been heating up over the last 70 years, and with it the false assumption that Christianity is intrinsically Western. The result has been the demonization of WANA Christians as 5thcolumns to western Imperialism.

The effects of the Left’s lack of vigour can be observed. quite harshly.

Assyrian Christians are one of those ethno religious minorities indigenous to the region and have faced over a century of persecution and genocide.

Many of us know about the Armenian genocide of 1915 by the Ottomans – which is still denied by Turkey today, and still not recognized in the UK and US . But what many of us don’t know is that at least 300,000 Assyrians were also victims, alongside the Armenians.

· Images:https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/5ff06342-7a14-4ce6-89d2-c59a04deb676.jpg

A book that discusses the 1915 Assyrian genocide in detail is Year of the Swordby Joseph Yacoub:https://global.oup.com/academic/covers/pop-up/9780190633462

In 1933, in the village of Simele in Iraq, after waves of anti-Assyrian propaganda, the Iraqi Army slaughtered 6,000 Assyrians and decimated over 60 villages.

Image: https://i0.wp.com/www.nationalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/simele-massacre-survivors.jpg?resize=789%2C460&ssl=1

Sources:

https://medium.com/@DeadmanMax/the-simele-massacre-in-iraq-a-legacy-of-trauma-and-british-neglect-ae21d96afe4d

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/07/simele-massacre-1933-assyrian-victims-still-seek-justice/

Both the atrocities of 1915 and the Simele Massacre in 1933 is what prompted Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin to later coin the word ‘genocide’.

Image of Lemkin:https://www.ushmm.org/m/img/2453436-700x468.jpg

After the assassination of Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul al-Karim Qasim (KASIM) in 1963, the following decades saw the rise of Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party in Iraq, and what came with it was a new wave of violent anti-Communism. Many communists were killed and imprisoned, effectively culling the Iraqi Communist Party – of which a sizable percentage at the time were Assyrian. In fact, the party’s first secretary was an Assyrian named Yusuf Salman Yusuf, who was found hung over a decade prior, on 14thFebruary 1949.

Image of Qasim:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Karim_Qasim

Image of Yusuf:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_Salman_Yusuf

Source:https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/alexander-a/2008/xx/iraqcp.html

With this, and general increasing repression towards their identity, thousands of Assyrians fled the country between the 60s and 70s.

The most recent mass exodus was from the Iraq War. In 2003, there were around 1.5 million Assyrian Christians in Iraq. That number is now less than 275,000. It was only five years ago [2014] that IS committed a genocide. Christian homes were marked with the Arabic letter “N” [show image] for Nazarene, to denote Christians, followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/for-christians-symbol-of-mideast-oppression-becomes-source-of-solidarity/

The population of Assyrians is now between 2 - 4 million, with most of them in the diaspora. There are half a million across Europe, Australia and Canada, and around 400,000 in the US.

https://unpo.org/members/7859

The lack of vigour in the west to understand their plight and the plight of other minorities can be felt severely.

A large portion of the diaspora in the US were supportive of Donald Trump during the 2016 election, a politician who appears to be completely against their interests, the very group that would be the first on the pecking order of deportation. And in due course, that is what the reality has been for them, now after putting in their pledge to live and work, they are now thrown asunder and betrayed by whom they thought they could trust.

Yet just as the opportunity might arise for a show of solidarity, left wingers from across the spectrum were largely silent, and many liberals even said they deserved to get deported, effectively defending their genocide. Did anyone even think about asking their story?

[show initial tweet, and responses to it]

https://twitter.com/VivianHYee/status/882599546244747264

and the comments here:

[show article, then the comments]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/27/detroit-judge-halts-deportations-of-more-than-1400-iraqi-nationals-nationwide/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.46e259345883#comments

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/09/michigans-iraqi-chaldean-community-is-fighting-to-protect-dozens-of-people-from-deportation.html

We [western leftists and liberals] further egg on this anti-Christian backlash in the way we discuss these topics via previously mentioned binaries. For instance, take a look at the travel ban. Eventually, it hurt everyone in the region, regardless of its initial intent to target Muslims. Liberals, instead of taking on a general anti-xenophobic stance, instead increased anti-Christian sentiment by mocking the insertment of preferences towards Christians (which again, never materialized). Take a look at the way that John Oliver and Stephen Colbert discussed the travel ban, for example. And while trying to mock Republican politicians, Colbert inadvertently mocked Syriac patriarchs and made off-handed comments about them and their language.

“While his administrationhas reducedMuslim refugee arrivals 93 percent compared to the final months of the Obama administration, it has still slashed Christian refugees 64 percent. He has also cut Syrian Christian refugee arrivals by 94 percent and those from Iraq by 99 percent. He has admitted just 20 Syrian Christians in all of Fiscal Year 2018.”

Source:https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-has-cut-christian-refugees-64-muslim-refugees-93

Source 2:https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2018/08/13/trump-admits-only-23-christian-refugees-from-mideast-in-2018/#175295838dd7

The right has been the stickler when it comes to appropriating leftist talking points, as I’ve spoken about numerous times. The EU used to be a more conservative tradition, opposed by many factions of the left including Tony Benn, but after sections of the Right-Wing discourse took it by their shoulders all the left could seem to do was go “No, EU good” in response. The EU is an undemocratic monolithic entity that controls large hegemony over the continent. This is what the left has always been against, and how we seem to have been shuffled into the Pro-EU corner to own the Right is baffling, how dare we allow them to take charge of the narrative.

Many on twitter were stunned a while back with the revelation that Alt-right youtuber Braving Ruin, formerly EdgySphinx, was of Egyptian descent, in other words he’s not white, in a movement almost entirely made up of White Nationalists this seems like a baffling contradiction. It’s not.

He’s a Copt. Another Christian minority native to Egypt that have been increasingly targeted in recent years <quickly show various screenshots of articles from NPR and others about this to prove the point>.

In November 2018, seven Copts were killed by gunmen and 19 more were wounded. “All but one of those killed were members of the same family, according to a list of the victims’ names released by the Coptic Orthodox church, which said among the dead were a boy and a girl, age 15 and 12 respectively.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/03/egypt-attack-gunmen-kill-coptic-christians-bus-ambush

It was from Braving Ruin’s own testimony that we find what led him towards the right was very much so a conflict of his knowledge.

Because for all we try and ignore the issue, these groups are dying. There isn’t that convenient option for the displaced, vulnerable diaspora, coming to a place where they no longer fear being lynched. For them, when they arrive to see a Left whose only regurgitated knowledge has been Eurocentric, they gravitate towards the side that is saying “The Left hate Christianity”. While this might sound silly to you, these minorities don’t have that privilege. And when the right-wing are the only ones talking about their issues, with mostly silence or dismissal from the left, what more would you expect?

We’re not even presenting faux dramatizations of anger. We’re completely turning our back to their voices in favour of pleasing narratives.

One of those narratives that has sprung up in recent years been the conflict in Northern Syria. There can be a good case made for Kurdish autonomy, and this is in part something that has galvanised support from Leftists in the West towards the issue. Yet it ignores that there are serious issues with the new governments and hegemonies that have taken root, going far beyond US funding.

You may have seen the images below of protests breaking out in Northern Syria against the school closures. (Show Images)

PYD authorities ordered the closure of Assyrian schools that refused to teach the DFNS-Rojava curriculum on August 7th, 2018. Members of the Assyrian security force, Sutoro, opened fire to disperse the crowds, but were overwhelmed. (Show Video)

https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/news/assyrians-in-syria-protest-pyd-s-closure-of-schools-in-qamishli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOS5VKckUpA

Western leftists, rather than question the establishment, instead drew attention to the flags that they were holding. Those are Syrian government flags yes, but it does not mean they are fanatical supporters. In the essence of oppression, anti-Imperialism requires the use of certain representatives as a rallying cry, which is the very reason why Assad still has so much support.

https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/news/kurdish-self-administration-in-syria-release-assyrian-journalist-souleman-yusph

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Christian-journalist,-betrayed-by-the-indifference-of-the-West-over-Syria-45312.html

Despite the oft claimed assertion of the progressive and inclusive constitution, we should know by now that on paper does not always mean in practice, actual reports from the ground level by Assyrians are skeptical to a high degree. The school protests have come after a series of attempts to impose an aggressive series of actions largely targeted at minority groups, including seizure and occupation of property, forced reparation payments, and all manner of targeting and assaults.

On paper, the MFS (Syriac Military Council) are allied with the PYD. But were you aware that the council is mostly made up of Arabs and Kurds, not Assyrians? And that the groups claimed to have been showcased as examples of Syriac-Kurdish unity are in fact on the fringes of Assyrian opinion?

In a similar situation, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq have forcibly removed mayors and are occupying Assyrian towns. Assyrians have protested consistently, to, again, little coverage or outrage on an international level.

Image:https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Assyrians-outside-the-Kurdisch-Regional-Government-office-in-Stockholm-protest-against-the-removal-of-the-Assyrian-mayor-of-Alqosh-north-Iraq-e1501247282519.jpg

Source:

http://www.aina.org/reports/erasingassyrians.pdf

We can talk romantically about the Kurds. But why should their self-determination come at the expense of Assyrians?

As Westerners we have this privilege, we can pick what we like from the orient, but ignore the darker sides of the conflict. Anti-Imperialism is a no brainer, but there can be a tendency amongst some leftists to end up ignoring how imperialism often affects the most vulnerable – indigenous and minority groups. It’s not “too complicated” to talk about this. There’s also the case of generally just needing to listen women and minorities without an immediate assumption they all have an alternative, reactionary agenda. They do have a voice, big and small, and the least we could do is respect that in line with our standards.

And we may also want to even look at our standards in how we might engage with folks who have not regretted their participation in butchery vs the coverage of the Yazidis who who have faced a very recent genocide.

There was recent discussion surrounding a British ISIS bride who was extensively interviewed by a variety of Western outlets, portraying her as a victim. Yet she had no regrets for what she did to communities ISIS subjugated via violence. Western narcissism gave this ISIS bride more coverage than to victims of genocide like Yazidis, who recently protested outside the White House [show tweet]. Again, the only coverage given to them was except from far-right outlets [show breitbart article].

https://twitter.com/Free_Yezidi/status/1106623531939438597

https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2019/03/19/trump-admin-yazidi-protest-outside-white-house-youre-not-forgotten/

I don’t make this video with the intention of bringing about more hatred towards Muslims, yet I can’t help but feel disheartened that this is even assumed. There arenuances we need to start to come to terms with, that will include understanding the different power and privilege dynamics outside of the West, and how that might affect the mindset of the diaspora. Some leftists say this is too complicated to discuss, but it never stopped you before.

You must be able to breach the topic of understanding both Western Islamophobia, and Islamism in the Middle East, without caving into a Western reactionary narrative or allowing right-wingers to continue to fill up the void in these discussions, which they already have done so quite successfully.

So, it’s time we as leftists take back these narratives and rectify our ignorance on the situation instead of continuing to allow the right-wing to dominate this. It’s simply not right to ignore this problem because “conservatives already talk about it”, when we know their intentions are not for the betterment of all, especially when it comes to the oppressed. We cannot grow as a movement when we are pushing so many people away.

So how can we help? The first thing would be to remove Eurocentric understandings of race and religion from our mind, to realize how dynamics work in the global south. And as with everything else, keep up with what’s going on in the region, discuss these issues with your friends, family, comrades. Use your platform to raise awareness. Reach out to and listen to these people and don’t speak over them or use them as props for ideological or partisan fighting.

It may feel good to say, “Jesus was a brown Jewish socialist from the Middle East!” as a “gotcha” to the Conservatives, but we know they don’t really care about that, and more to the point what are you doing for the Christians of the region right now?

Organize with them, declare statements of solidarity, make this a part of your activism. Let them know you’re there for them when they need it. These are marginalized, oppressed people with real, pressing concerns, and deserve more than token appreciation.

The left has brought about, in recent times, a grand spectrum of inclusivity to more oppressed groups. If it wishes to continue this line, then we must start strengthening ourselves and asking the difficult questions. There need not be any slander of groups here. 1 can be split into 2, and we must break away from our Eurocentric understanding of global geo-politics in all aspects if we are to build ourselves and our credibility to the larger world.

Like I said, its never stopped you before.

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segadores-y-soldados · 6 years

Text

Everything You Want to Know about Reaper and Soldier: 76

HAPPY REAPER76 DAY!!

In light of today’s news (and the chaos of Blizzcon), I figured a post on what we know about Reaper and Soldier: 76 is probably appropriate.

Please remember to reblog or retweet the original posts from Auttoton/Autolikescake! (here: http://auttoton.tumblr.com/post/167297655733/i-attended-a-panel-at-blizzard-tonight-with-jeff and here: https://twitter.com/Autolikescake/status/928528808445014019)

“Overwatch's short list of prospective agents included two members of the soldier enhancement program: Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, a senior officer. Reyes, a hardened and highly respected veteran, grew up about as far from rustic Indiana as you could get—the sprawling urban melting pot of Los Angeles. Despite their differences, the two soldiers became friends. Their decision to join Overwatch together would change the world, for good and for bad.”

(source: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/) Buckle up - this is one of the longest ones yet!

One thing to keep in mind with this article - “Fading Glory: On the Trail of Jack Morrison” - is that it is written in-universe from an unreliable background narrator (the journalist Olympia Shaw). It contains both “facts about Reyes and Morrison,” but it also contains her biases and is tinted with her view and understanding of the world.

Similarly, all sources cited from within the universe of Overwatch are from very specific perspectives and typically told through an unreliable narrator. At his 2017 GDC talk, “Thinking Globally: Building the Optimistic Future of Overwatch,” Michael Chu had this to say about Blizzard’s storytelling for the characters:

“One of the things that we really like doing with Overwatch is playing with perspective. We utilize perspective when we tell stories about what characters are thinking, what their goals are - and we have a lot of unreliable narrators. We want people to pay careful attention to what characters think about in particular situations. We want them to use their judgement and knowlege of a character’s thoughts to come up with their own ideas about the universe.” - Thinking Globally (Timestamp: 34:35 https://youtu.be/bj56ejM5EcU?t=2075)

This is important because the majority of our information comes from characters with a certain lens on their own words and narratives - Olympia Shaw is one, yes, but others in this story of Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison include: Sombra, Moira O’Deorain, Jesse McCree, Ana Amari, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Torbjörn Lindholm, etc.

And of course -

Gabriel and Jack themselves.

In my opinion, the beauty and fun of the relationship is digging through the details and seeing how much the two characters share together - in the canon story, in their in-game skins and quotes, in their alternate variations, everything. Their nearly 30 years of shared history and close personal relationship (in whatever form it takes) makes them a fascinating and interesting pair together and separately.

Let’s start from the beginning!

---

SEP: The Soldier Enhancement Program

“Before long, [Morrison] earned a coveted position in the government's controversial and still-classified (but widely acknowledged) "soldier enhancement program." Military scientists shaped Morrison and other inductees into the perfect soldiers, blessed with superhuman speed, strength, and agility. Morrison and his fellow augmented soldiers would soon put their abilities to use with the advent of the Omnic Crisis.”

(Source: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/)

Up until extremely recently, very little was known about the “Soldier Enhancement Program.” People have speculated about the nature of it, how deeply it affected Gabriel and Jack, how the experiences through it shaped the nature of their early relationship, etc.

What We Do Know:

Soldier: 76 has always had an in-game skin titled “Commando” since the launch of the game. Originally, I described this as a reference to the 1970′s/1980′s films about special operations “commandos” such as the Schwarzenegger film by the same name (http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/157378862270/reaper-and-soldier-american-cultural-references) The new “The Art of Overwatch” artbook also confirms this was originally an homage to the 1970′s:

But soon, the Commando skin came to represent something deeper for Soldier: 76 (and Reaper as well).

When the “Uprising” comic was released, there were two panels depicting an aged Strike-Commander Jack describing his experiences in the Omnic Crisis for the first time:

Many people had guessed that the Soldier Enhancement Program was part of a special operations group, but this was the first time this idea was effectively confirmed.

For those of you who may not know, “special operations” are defined as:

Special operations (S.O.) are military operations that are "special" or unconventional and carried out by dedicated special forces and other special operations forces units using unconventional methods and resources. Special operations may be performed independently of or in conjunction with, conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does not exist or might adversely affect the overall strategic outcome. Special operations are usually conducted in a low-profile manner that aims to achieve the advantages of speed, surprise, and violence of action against an unsuspecting target. Special ops are typically carried out with limited numbers of highly trained personnel that are adaptable, self-reliant and able to operate in all environments, and able to use unconventional combat skills and equipment. Special operations are usually implemented through specific, tailored intelligence. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_operations)

“Commandos” fall under the category of “limited numbers of highly trained personnel that are adaptable, self-reliant and able to operate in all environments, and able to use unconventional combat skills and equipment.”

When the “Uprising” playable event was released in-game, it was quickly discovered that Soldier: 76 had been given a new spray titled “Commando:”

But so had someone else.

After nearly a full-year since the game’s release in May 2016, Reaper finally received an image depicting him as a “Commando” from the Omnic Crisis Era.

But above all else -

The sprays are meant to be paired together.

They are a reference to the Contra logo:

...Or you can do the reverse, which makes them, uh -

You can see why people went all out with the “Commander Reyes and I” quote.

Now, with Jeff’s new quote, we have repeated confirmation of what the two characters meant to each other, even from the very beginning:

“The story that we're developing is actually, like–no, these guys loved each other–like–they're like, best war buddies.”

(Sure, Jeff - “best war buddies,” I got ya)

Even from the outset, Gabriel was described as being “a senior officer” to Jack, but that despite differences in their ranks and backgrounds, the two men were friends:

“Overwatch's short list of prospective agents included two members of the soldier enhancement program: Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, a senior officer. Reyes, a hardened and highly respected veteran, grew up about as far from rustic Indiana as you could get—the sprawling urban melting pot of Los Angeles. Despite their differences, the two soldiers became friends.” (source: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/)

The Commando sprays - on top of being a cute gaming reference - show their closeness in their early years, when all they had was each other and their special operations squad, in what was an incredibly hostile, incredibly dangerous, incredibly uncertain environment -

Both in the war against robots

And in the “Soldier Enhancement Program.”

Soldier: 24 and Soldier: 76

“The Reaper is an extremely volatile mercenary, a ruthless and remorseless killer responsible for terrorist attacks across the world. He has fought in many armed conflicts in the last decades, showing no loyalty to any cause or organization. Survivors have described a black shadow ghosting unscathed through the most hellish battlefields. The few bodies recovered of those he kills are pale, empty husks drained of life, their cells showing signs of intense degradation. It is possible that he is a byproduct of failed genetic alteration which forces his cells to simultaneously decay and regenerate at a hyper-accelerated rate.” (Reaper’s profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/reaper/)

“[Moira] was recruited by Gabriel Reyes to be a member of Blackwatch. And uh, during that time she had relationships with the Blackwatch crew - McCree, Genji - they all have their own sort of likes and dislikes for each other. Reyes wanted someone could help advise him on, uh, some matters of genetics that he was, uh, interested in, shall we say.” - Michael Chu, 3:47 (https://youtu.be/HsJU3PEk9JY?t=227)

After much speculation about the “decades” line in Reaper’s profile, it appears Blizzard has finally confirmed that - yes - something did happen to Gabriel during SEP.

Something that altered him all the way down to his genetic core.

Fans have been throwing around the idea that “Soldier: 76” is a reference to Jack Morrison’s “Soldier Enhancement Program” number for quite a long time (it’s a personal favorite of mine...which I guess should be obvious at this point, haha), which also led fans to speculate on if Gabriel Reyes ever had a Soldier ID number, and if so, what would it be? People used numbers like “13,” “75,” “666,” etc, but after the reveal of Moira, the Oasis map now has the above folder in her Genetics lab (a spawn room on the University point).

This folder mirrors another one (or rather...two) that can be found in the LumériCo building on the Dorado map:

Was Jack aware of the changes in Gabriel’s biology?

The honest answer: we don’t know for sure.

The hopeful answer: yes, he did.

In theory, it would be almost impossible to hide a secret of that magnitude for the nearly thirty years that both men were together. This is coupled with a few other things:

1. Reaper’s description of his “rogue mercenary work” for “decades” appears to fit the definition of clandestine and covert operations to a tee.

Since it’s been confirmed that both men were “commandos” or special operations personnel for the U.S. military, both men knew the skills, tactics, and values of the nature of unconventional warfare, special operations, clandestine and covert operations, and possible “black operations.”

Clandestine and covert operations are military or intelligence operations in which the first one is a secret or concealed operation entirely, and the second one is an operation in which the sponsor or parent organization is concealed.

The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication JP1-02, dated 5 January 2007) defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies in such a way as to assure secrecy or concealment. A clandestine operation differs from a covert operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of the operation rather than on concealment of the identity of the sponsor. In special operations, an activity may be both covert and clandestine and may focus equally on operational considerations and intelligence-related activities." (JP 3-05.1). (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clandestine_operation)

It makes a ton of sense when put into perspective - by the time of the Omnic Crisis, Gabriel Reyes was likely a young commander in charge of a special operations group or squad on behalf of the U.S. military (I personally see them as part of the Army’s Special Forces (aka “The Green Berets”), but you might prefer a different organization), and either him or his squad was recommended to the “Soldier Enhancement Program,” which likely pooled special operations groups of different ranks, skills, assets, tactics, and potentials to chemically and biologically “enhance” them before sending them out to fight robots. Jack Morrison, while younger, may have had similar skills or was at least in the process of being trained to use or hone them. Most special operations groups are relatively small in terms of the number of people per group or squad - the ground level units of ODAs (Operational Detacthment Alpha squads of the Special Forces) only have 12 people per squad, and each squad can break down into smaller teams of 6 people if the mission requires splitting up or dual-tactics.

The original Overwatch Strike Team only had 5 - 6 people on it (depends on if you think Liao is still a character in development or not).

Gabriel Reyes was the original commander of this group, and may have tailored the group to suit the small-team, clandestine and covert tactics he was used to, or requested that the Strike Team remain small and flexible for unconventional warfare methods in a time when major military operations were failing against Bastions, OR-14s, and Titans the world over. It is not an accident that each member of the original Strike Team appears to also have special operations training, as well as covers major principles of unconventional warfare (e.g. Torbjörn and “combat engineering,” Ana and sniping, Ana and “overwatching,” Jack and combat medicine, Gabriel and “force suppression shotguns,” etc).

Jack Morrison, having also been trained in unconventional warfare and different types of special operations, likely would have understood the need for small, highly skilled, highly specialized teams to conducted clandestine and covert operations, intelligence and reconnaissance missions, and other special operations/unconventional warfare tactics.

In my opinion, it does not make sense that Jack never knew what was going on with Gabriel’s biology, but rather probably worked with him to use it in a way Gabriel was comfortable with and knowledgeable about.

In other words:

2. Gabriel and Jack’s commando backgrounds, along with their early Crisis and OW Strike Team experiences, likely led to the joint decision to form Blackwatch, Overwatch’s covert operations division.

This is likely going to roll into the next part, but effectively, Jack Morrison himself probably created the Blackwatch division, or - with whatever internal Overwatch powers and abilities afforded to him as the new, Post-Crisis Strike-Commander - gave Gabriel the authority to create the Blackwatch division as he saw fit.

Every description of Blackwatch calls it a “division” within Overwatch, meaning that while Gabriel was the division commander (much like how Torbjörn is later described as the “Chief Engineer”), Jack Morrison was the final end in the chain of command.

(Source: McCree’s profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/mccree/)

(Source: the description for the “Blackwatch Reyes” skin)

(Source: Moira’s profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/moira/)

And Gabriel’s “Blackwatch Reyes” skin has always had an Overwatch logo on his left shoulder.

(Which you would think would kinda defeat the purpose of a covert ops division, but all well)

Which brings me to my next point

Overwatch and Blackwatch

“[...] after they defeated the Omnic Crisis, Morrison was actually given the top position of power and Reyes was overlooked because he was too rogue, he was too maverick in his leadership style–he ruffled too many feathers. And a lot of our fans have assumed "oh, that's why Reyes and Morrison hate each other," and the story that we're developing is actually, like–no, these guys loved each other–like–they're like, best war buddies. And in a lot of ways, Reyes was relieved that Morrison had to have the more political role, and like, he was like kind of–it's always easier being the number two guy because you're not ultimately accountable for all that, Reyes was kind of, you know, in some ways thankful and relieved, um, and weirdly, we're gonna show how that relationship actually was Morrison's downfall because for so long, Morrison would actually defend Reyes's questionable actions. And to us, that feels more like what would actually happen between real people and less just, um, typical cliché black-and-white "this guy is bad, that guy is good," you know, we want to have that depth of relationship because I think it's ultimately more relatable to all of us as kind of human beings.” - Jeff Kaplan in yesterday’s reveal

The greatest part about Jeff’s response yesterday was that it basically confirms all of the above:

Gabriel likely had more experience and more depth of skill in clandestine and covert operations, which did not mesh with the United Nations’ vision of Overwatch moving forward. Sure, during the Omnic Crisis, Overwatch was a special operations and unconventional warfare group specifically designed to infiltrate and destroy Omniums, but after the war was won and the dust of the “near robot apocalypse” settled, the United Nations wanted to expand Overwatch from a single small squad of highly skilled individuals to a much larger organization tasked with enforcing and maintaining peace.

Gabriel probably had very little experience with that, as indicated by Jeff’s line “he was too rogue, he was too maverick in his leadership style–he ruffled too many feathers.” Even if he was and is a skilled tactician and covert ops leader, that does not necessarily translate to public-speaking skills or political maneuvering abilities. Jack Morrison, however, may have performed these attributes better during wartime, interfacing with other military or civilian groups on behalf of Overwatch’s secret missions, as well as potentially interacting with their parent group, the United Nations (and/or the UN Security Council). We know that the Under-Secretary General who helped form Overwatch - Gabrielle Adawe - spoke highly of Jack’s teamwork skills:

"Even I had my doubts about whether Overwatch would succeed," UN Under-Secretary-General Gabrielle Adawe, one of Overwatch's key architects, said shortly after the end of the Omnic Crisis. "But Morrison never gave up hope. He didn't just meet our expectations for what Overwatch and its agents could achieve; he shattered them." (Source: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/)

I’ve also seen fans’ speculate that, given Soldier: 76′s biotic field ability, Jack may have been the Strike Team’s original combat medic, or something based on that. Despite being an in-game healer, Ana Amari’s biotic rifle did not develop until much, much later after the Crisis, when Angela Ziegler (Mercy) had joined Overwatch.

(Notice the two names the blueprint is addressed to, btw.)

In all her “old pictures,” Ana Amari is shown with a few different rifles, but they all appear to be standard sniper rifles.

And all of Soldier: 76′s voicelines about the biotic field are heavily team-focused:

Get over here and heal up!

Anyone need some healing?

Come here and get stabilized.

Field’s down.

Biotic field activated.

Everyone, heal up.

Time to heal up.

Heal up here.

Team, heal up here.

Never leave a teammate behind.

So while Gabriel was the commander, the leader, and the likely tactician of the original Strike Team, the “healer” and “support role” probably fell to Jack. In-game playstyles, though not necessarily canon, would put Jack/Soldier: 76 close to Reinhardt so that Reinhardt could shield his heavy pulse rifle fire, with Gabriel/Reaper operating around their anchor point, as either an offensive flanker against opponents or a defensive protector to help cover them. Ana (assuming she is not healing) and Torbjörn’s turret would help provide suppressive “overwatch” cover, or also cover any holes or gaps in the team’s sides.

It is therefore not unlikely that Gabriel formulated and created the tactics, before giving orders to Jack, who - with the biotic field and his louder voice - was the one that then relayed them to team members or other military groups working with the Overwatch Strike Team.

This partnership has now been confirmed to translate quite well to the Overwatch and Blackwatch operations, with Gabriel’s Blackwatch covert ops division doing reconn, gathering intel, and infiltrating groups (“And in a lot of ways, Reyes was relieved that Morrison had to have the more political role, and like, he was like kind of–it's always easier being the number two guy because you're not ultimately accountable for all that, Reyes was kind of, you know, in some ways thankful and relieved”) -

Before providing that information to Overwatch through Jack Morrison and Ana Amari, who would then use that to implement new Strike Team missions, active U.N. peacekeeping projects, or developing new plans.

When the United Nations or other organizations would ask questions about Blackwatch, Jack “would actually defend Reyes's questionable actions” (again, probably because 1. Jack knew the value of special operations and unconventional warfare and 2. Jack trusted Gabriel to lead those operations as he had always done).

We saw a version of this play out in the “Uprising” comic, which, for the first time, showed a much older Morrison, older Amari, and maybe older Reyes assess a hostile and dangerous situation - the uprising of Null Sector in London.

Notice how Gabriel is snarky and sarcastic with Ana, but when Jack says, “I want to know how Null Sector caught us so off guard,” Gabriel responds with calmer, more factual information. Interestingly, again, it is not Jack who snaps at Gabriel about his use of the word “extremists,” but Ana.

Gabriel follows up with his monologue that, again, is calm and collected, if slightly charged:

The “Uprising” comic - and then the in-game Uprising event voicelines - were the first time fans had seen “Pre-Talon” Gabriel interact with Jack and Ana (and then later Reinhardt and the rest of the ground-level Strike Team). Through these, we were given a vastly different view of Gabriel than other in-universe material had implied: this version of Gabriel was calm, collected, funny, witty, focused, and almost jovial around Jack, Ana, and Reinhardt.

Fans went wild for this version of Gabriel, with a major online movement to get the “Reyes Shrug” as an actual emote, victory pose, or spray in the game, and well -

Blizzard listened

And gave us not one, not even two -

But all three.

(The emote)

(The victory pose)

(The spray)

While this happened during the Anniversary event (after the Uprising event), Jack received a very different emote for Uprising.

And yeah -

People immediately used it exactly how you’d expect.

With Uprising, both Gabriel and Jack received voicelines that...had very similar connotations to them, both said fairly dryly/sarcastically:

Reaper: ...Moving on.

Soldier: 76: ...Whatever you say.

And then with the Anniversary event...something else happened with the voicelines that many people didn’t...quite notice.

Anniversary

Jack received the voiceline, “You’re the boss,” which was rather odd, given that he was “the boss” of Overwatch for about 20 years.

However, there is one other time that Jack Morrison uses the word “boss” in canon material.

Given that Gabriel was Jack’s former commander and his “boss,” and that this particular comic panel comes after a major plot point in which Soldier: 76 and Reaper fight each other, it seems rather likely that “You’re the boss” is a voiceline towards Gabriel/Reaper.

Not coincidentally, the word “boss” is used in direct reference to “present day” Reaper by another character:

Sombra: So what are we doing here, boss?

Reaper: I need to pay a visit to a friend.

(We’ll come back to this particular interaction later.)

Meanwhile, Gabriel received the voiceline “No one left behind” which also seemed odd given that Reaper has left Talon grunts “behind” in things like Recall and “Old Soldiers.” It also doesn’t appear to mesh with his “commando” and covert ops background, in which the mission comes above people.

Except that “being left behind” does show up as a line and a concept said by Reaper -

In a very specific context.

“No one left behind” is incredibly interesting because it gives us a glimpse into Gabriel’s mindset - while his background and skills in covert operations may indicate a non-sentimental, calculating special operations leader, his actual dialogue in several places seems to indicate someone who cares a great deal about his teammates, allies, friends -

And partners.

Which brings us full-circle

To where the end is based on the beginning, and the beginning becomes an end point.

Fall

This is where we get into 100% speculation territory.

For my additional thoughts on this, please see the following:

My version of the Fall of Overwatch timeline: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167176447345/and-because-tumblr-is-going-to-destroy-this-post

My discussion on the “death” of Ana Amari and how it affected Gabriel and Jack: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/159512959195/alright-so-the-subject-of-ana-being-the-source-of

My hypothesis of Overwatch missions and investigations at the time of Uprising: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/164417776210/devil-in-the-details

My hypothesis that Reaper and Sombra are trying to bring down Talon from the inside: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/163200042035/death-becomes-you

Now, a lot of this is all theorizing and hypothesizing. It may or may not be true. What I’m going to present here is what we do know, now that we have Moira’s Origins video, and various sources on how Moira and Reaper fit together.

As I brought up earlier, something was likely very wrong with Gabriel’s biology. He’s the only character of the original Strike Team that does not appear to age at all in canon material.

From the early Overwatch days, in which we can see that the “older” team members of Reinhardt and Torbjörn have started aging a bit.

To Uprising

In which Jack and Ana are both shown with greying hair, while Gabriel looks largely unchanged.

(keep in mind there’s likely a gap of approximately 10 years between these two pictures)

To the latest pictures of him from Moira’s Origins video

(An unknown amount of time has progress between Uprising and this moment, or that this moment potentially came before Uprising).

On the subject of Moira’s recruitment, Michael Chu had this to say:

“She was recruited by Gabriel Reyes to be a member of Blackwatch. And uh, during that time she had relationships with the Blackwatch crew - McCree, Genji - they all have their own sort of likes and dislikes for each other. Reyes wanted someone could help advise him on, uh, some matters of genetics that he was, uh, interested in, shall we say.” - Michael Chu, 3:47 (https://youtu.be/HsJU3PEk9JY?t=227)

Which means this tweet now makes a lot of sense:

(Source: https://twitter.com/westofhouse/status/758425704530710528)

Which, again, when we backtrack, we find the “Soldier: 24″ folder in Moira’s lab on Oasis

But we also have something else going on:

http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167135805485/segadores-y-soldados-currently-in-addition

The short version:

Moira is the Minister of Genetics at Oasis. In her lab, you’ll find the “Soldier: 24” folder, along with a copy of Angela/Mercy’s research on the regenerative properties of nanobiology. However, the spawn room on the other side of the map is the Ministery of Chemistry, and in that spawn room, you’ll find this:

A copy of Moira’s research on “Repairing Degenerative Genetic Structures” with a post-it note that says “Draft” and her Ministry of Genetics lab symbol and name in Arabic.

Which gives us new context to that Sombra-Reaper interaction on Oasis:

Sombra: So what are we doing here, boss?

Reaper: I need to pay a visit to a friend.

And yes, Reaper does appear to mean “friend” in a truly platonic sense of the word because Michael specifically went out of his way to say that Moira and Reaper have only a “professional” relationship between them:

Geoff Goodman: “It [Her Fade ability] has some similarities to Reaper’s wraith form…uh which is…it’s funny how that works out.” Michael Chu: “You know, we obviously - there’s a…there’s a close relationship between Moira and Reyes-slash-Reaper, and I think one of the fun things we were able to do is to sort of hint at some of those things in her, uh, abilities.” Geoff Goodman: “She’s helping Reaper out and is like, ‘You know, I think I could make this better, I have an idea.’” Michael Chu: “Professional relationship.” Geoff Goodman: “Ahaha, yes…good call.” Michael Chu: “You know what I’m talking about.” [Whole panel laughs] - Time: 14:49 (https://youtu.be/HsJU3PEk9JY?t=889)

(Source: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167111711575/moira-preview-new-hero-overwatch-panel)

While I’ve hypothesized here that Jack knew about some (or possibly all) of Gabriel’s conditions, he may or may not have approved of Blackwatch’s decision to recruit Moira. What’s interesting is that Moira’s profile says this:

“Her employment was a closely kept secret, until it was uncovered during inquiries following the Venice incident. Many high-ranking Overwatch officials disavowed all knowledge of her affiliation with them.” (Source: Moira’s profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/moira/)

But Jeff said this:

“[...] we're gonna show how that relationship actually was Morrison's downfall because for so long, Morrison would actually defend Reyes's questionable actions. And to us, that feels more like what would actually happen between real people and less just, um, typical cliché black-and-white "this guy is bad, that guy is good," you know, we want to have that depth of relationship because I think it's ultimately more relatable to all of us as kind of human beings.”

It’s difficult to parse out, and while I have my own theories and ideas, the answer is not yet discernible. Did Jack know about Moira’s recruitment? Did he approve of it? Did he defend her position publically? Did he not know but defend Blackwatch anyways?

Did he request that Gabriel seek her out?

We don’t know yet, but I welcome all possible theories. It adds significantly more depth to the later years of the relationship between Gabriel and Jack, and complicates things significantly. We need to remember that, according to his own words, Reaper blames Jack for “leaving [him] to suffer” and “become this thing.”

This concept is at a disconnect with the likelihood that Moira either worsened his genetic condition and therefore hastened his shift into “Reaper,” or that she “unlocked [his] potential” and forced the “state of existence” on him entirely.

Or that she was truly, genuinely trying to help.

Remember - Moira’s Origin video is told from her perspective. Michael Chu said this:

(Source: https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20759241192#post-13)

In her own mind, it’s possible that Moira genuinely believed she was helping Gabriel “improve” by whatever her research or experiments on him did to him (or whatever they found out).

However, we also know that Nesskain, the artist behind Moira’s Origins video, had this to say about Gabriel’s feelings:

(Source: https://twitter.com/nesskain/status/926674887615188992)

(Tumblr link: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167110576805/httpstwittercomnesskainstatus926674887615188)

Between this, Reaper’s “He did this to me, Ana” line, and the supposed “battle” at the Swiss Watchpoint, something major occurred, and it could be any number of possibilities - a genuine falling out between two old soldiers and “war buddies,” a heartbreaking schism between two men who “loved each other,” an inevitable split between partners whose visions for the world had shifted from each other, or, hell, even a “fake” fight in order to preserve an infiltration mission.

Pick your card and play it.

Personally, I see it as some sort of combination of events, but without more information, it’s pretty much impossible to say for certain. There are, however, some suspicious details lingering elsewhere.

The City of the Dead, and the Shadows that connect people

Unless you play Elimination or the Death Matches, you might never come across the Necropolis and Castillo maps, but man, I would urge everyone who enjoys the characters and wordbuilding of Overwatch to set up a custom game and just wander around because these are full of details.

First up:

Necropolis

The Necropolis is Ana Amari and Soldier: 76′s current hideout on the outskirts of the Giza Pyramid complex. This allows Ana to continue her current personal mission of safeguarding the Temple of Anubis (as well as keep an eye on her daughter’s Helix squad), and also gives her a safe place to store her biotic grenades and darts equipment.

Ana’s look out over the Temple of Anubis

Ana’s workshop

Jack’s...uh...corner.

But the truly interesting part is this:

The “Reaper sightings” computers.

Here’s the map. The locations are:

Volskaya Industries, St. Petersburg, Russia (the “Infiltration” short)

Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Gibraltar (the “Recall” short)

Numbani, Nigeria (the museum heist trailer)

Oasis, Iraq (confirmed now that Moira is there)

And perhaps the most and least surprising of all:

Los Angeles, California

Gabriel’s original home.

Now -

When did “Reaper” go home?

(Yeah, yeah, and contrary to popular belief it does rain in California sometimes, okay?)

Lots of speculation has occurred around this panel - who exactly are these people? Are they related to Gabriel? Are they old friends? Is one of the adults an ex-agent of Overwatch?

Keep in mind that even if he hasn’t aged, Gabriel is chronologically in his early to mid-fifties in the present day. Overwatch’s playable and background characters tend to have really...vague ages, but personally, I see this family as being related to Gabriel, possibly as a sibling or an adult niece or nephew. I have seen some people speculate one of the adults could be his child.

What I find more interesting, however, is the question:

How did Jack and Ana get this information that Reaper visited Los Angeles?

Castillo - Sombra’s Room

Sombra’s room is a treasure trove of implied connections and details. Something that’s important to keep in mind is that Sombra is one of the few people to know canonically that Gabriel is Reaper.

(Source: https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20753735625#post-13)

Now, this was posted before Doomfist and Moira were revealed, so we don’t know the status of them (Moira seems like a “no duh” answer, but honestly, considering how Michael said that neither McCree nor Reinhardt know, I’m skeptical about how much Doomfist knows), but effectively, Sombra “knows the truth about Reaper.”

Which means this interaction is canon:

Sombra: What's the plan today, Gabe? You don't mind if I call you Gabe, do you?

Reaper: Stick to the mission.

What is Sombra referencing?

The only other person to use the nickname “Gabe” for Gabriel -

is Jack Morrison.

In her interactions with him, Ana calls him “Gabriel,” as does her daughter Fareeha when she references. McCree never addresses him by name, but considering that Gabriel uses the line “Reyes here” during the in-game Uprising event, he apparently prefers to stick with surnames during operations.

But that goes out the window with Jack.

And Sombra absolutely knows this.

Because in Sombra’s room, you can find these:

A picture of Jack Morrison and Jesse McCree.

Sombra also apparently knows about Ana because:

She has a file on Ana’s “Shrike” bounty hunter identity

As well as this interesting little tidbit:

Which shows Ana’s face.

The McCree stuff is also interesting because Sombra and McCree may have had contact with each other at about the same time that Gabriel is visiting Los Angeles:

Does Sombra have contact with Jack and Ana?

Again, the honest answer is: we don’t know.

But the hopeful answer is: possibly.

In the more recent “Searching” comic, Lynx-17, a hacker who has been trying to track Sombra’s efforts, said this:

And somehow -

Sombra has some sort of connection to Soldier: 76.

Sombra and Soldier: 76 are also the only two characters heavily invested in uncovering LumériCo’s shady dealings. Sombra, of course, had her massive ARG, in which LumériCo’s corruption was slowly (very...very...slowly) revealed by players. Soldier: 76 is the only other character to express interest in LumériCo, with the line:

“I wanna know what LumériCo's been up to.”

However, we also know he’s anti-Los Muertos, the arms-dealing gang that supported Sombra’s efforts against LumériCo.

Do Sombra and Soldier: 76 have a tentative alliance? Are they sharing information? Is she helping him track Reaper? Sombra was not present when Gabriel went home to Los Angeles, but she is present in the Volskaya Industries infiltration mission and Reaper’s “visit” to Oasis. Interestingly, the pictures on the blue screen of the “Reaper sightings” computer are from the Volskaya Industries mission...and Sombra was the one running the cameras.

Again - how deliberate is all this?

You know the drill by know:

Honest answer: we don’t know. Hopeful answer: Hopefully deliberate.

Lastly, because this section is getting kinda long -

Reaper and Sombra share one final interaction that is very...interesting to think over:

Reaper: Try to stick to the plan, Sombra.

Sombra: Look, someone has to be ready when all your careful planning doesn't pan out.

Again, does it mean anything? Who knows. But bear in mind that Sombra is one of the few people to know that Gabriel is Reaper, and that Gabriel has always been the commander trained in stealth, covert operations, reconn and intelligence gathering, and infiltration missions. Sombra knows this, and Gabriel knows she knows it too. They appear to have a tentative trust with one another, and again, Sombra is the only person (besides Jack) to have ever called Gabriel “Gabe” and “boss” (at least, that we know of). Gabriel was also aware of her “plan” to throw their Volskaya mission, which means he not only let Sombra deliberately trigger the alarm system, he also willingly let Katya Volskaya escape.

(Source: Masquerade comic)

“But if Reaper is working with Sombra, why would he tattle on her?”

Again, honest answer, hopeful answer, blah blah blah. You’re not here for me to say “I don’t know 100 times,” you’re here for the hopeful answer.

The hopeful answer is that:

Again, Gabriel has experience with infiltration and intel missions - he’s been doing this for thirty years, possibly longer given his military experience. There is almost no faster way to gain one person’s trust than to “snitch” on another, to show that you’re going to work with Person A instead of Person B. It’s a risky move, but if Person B is willing to pretend to be the “fall guy,” they then can try to cover each other better. Which again -

Goes back to who has the “back up” ideas when all of Reaper’s “careful planning doesn’t pan out”?

At the Blizzard voice actors panel at Anime Expo 2017, Michael Chu said this:

“Yeah, you know, [Sombra] gets on [Reaper’s] nerves a little bit, but I think that, ultimately, Reaper knows that Sombra is...effective, and so he respects that because he is a good eye for talent. (Audience starts to cheer) Look at that Blackwatch team - it’s amazing!” - Michael Chu (Timestamp: 45:48 https://youtu.be/JPQi61a8fD0?t=2748)

Now -

What is Sombra effective for?

Finding secrets that are hidden.

Sombra has found LumériCo’s shading dealings. She’s found connections between LumériCo and Vishkar and Volskaya. She’s found where Katya is getting her new mech technology from (a group in Numbani).

(And Reaper may not know these ones but) she has found that Ana Amari is alive. She has found connections between Ana Amari and Jesse McCree.

She is investigating Jack Morrison -

And has a connection to Soldier: 76 somehow.

And more than anything else

Sombra knows Gabriel’s nickname is “Gabe”

And she knows who used to call him that.

And she very likely knows Jack’s end of this as well.

What does Soldier: 76 want more than anything else?

To find out who brought down Overwatch.

---

So now we’ve essentially caught up with the current plot. Reaper and Sombra are running around working with Doomfist and Moira. Soldier: 76 and Ana are hiding out in the Necropolis. Winston has initiated Recall and so far, Tracer, Genji, Reinhardt, and Mei are answering it and returning to Overwatch. Doomfist has partially destroyed Numbani and reclaimed his Gauntlet. Efi Oladele has built Orisa. Sombra has managed to persuade Zarya that Katya Volskaya is not to be trusted. Junkrat and Roadhog are trying to trick the Queen of Junkertown to let them back in. Torbjörn is working with Bastion on something (???). Moira is conducting research in Oasis (and may be fighting the Ministry of Chemistry to get her research back).

Where do we go from here?

There are a few avenues:

1. We will likely see more characters answer the Recall initiation and return to Overwatch. Who - we don’t know yet. Mercy, Torbjörn, and McCree are all still potential returnees.

2. We will start seeing Talon become more emboldened about moving forward with their plans to accelerate the Second Omnic Crisis - now that Doomfist is out of prison and Vialli (who was more content with easy profits in peace) is dead, Doomfist appears to be taking more control over the council that runs the organization.

3. We will likely see Soldier: 76 and Ana react to these, especially if they are tracking Reaper or are being given information on his locations from an “inside source” (like Sombra or even possibly Reaper himself). We know that the two of them are trying to prevent Anubis from breaking out of his confinement...and possibly prevent others from breaking in to help him, and they are in the next-closest playable location to Oasis.

4. We will start seeing repercussions for Winston’s Recall, as Overwatch is still illegal and formally disbanded. The United Nations, along with its contracted military support service, Helix Securities, may start making strong moves to stop Winston and the new Overwatch group, or may go after old members who are conspiring to bring it back.

5. I personally suspect we will start seeing more of Vishkar, and as a related connection to them, Lúcio. Sanjay Korpal - Satya Vaswani’s (Symmetra’s) boss - has shown up in Talon meetings twice now (once in the Masquerade comic and again in Moira’s Origins video). Lúcio managed to increase public awareness against Vishkar’s unethical and immoral actions in Rio de Janeiro, and he’s a major popular folk hero and inspiration the world over.

6. I also suspect we will eventually see the return of Null Sector in some way, shape, or form. Although Mondatta is dead, there are the implications that anger and bitterness still linger among Omnics in London, and both Doomfist and Moira have lines that imply that Talon is looking to ignite that anger into something larger. A large portion of the Overwatch-affiliated cast, such as Reinhardt, Tracer, Torbjörn, Mercy, Soldier: 76, Reaper, Ana, and McCree, all made large efforts to stop Null Sector seven years ago, and while Reaper is working for Talon, and Soldier: 76, Ana, and McCree have all gone rogue, I doubt any of them want to see Null Sector return again.

7. We hopefully will see Orisa’s clash with Doomfist. Numbani is something like Doomfist’s old stomping grounds, but now that Efi has built Orisa, there’s someone there who is uniquely designed to counter Doomfist in many ways. As an aside, if she’s still alive, Gabrielle Adawe - one of the founders of Overwatch - may also live in Numbani, and could return to the plot somehow.

8. In his most recent AMA with the Overwatch subreddit, Jeff alluded to the fact that background characters like Maximilien, the Queen of Junkertown, Lynx-17, and Hammond (the rogue “specimen” from the Horizon Lunar Colony) may all eventually become playable (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/7bdyby/blizzcon_2017_interview_jeff_kaplan_bill_warnecke/). Hammond in particular provides an opportunity to both explore Winston’s backstory as well as motivate Winston to use Recalled Overwatch in a bolder manner going forward. Lucheng links Lijiang Tower (where they have a base of operations) and the Horizon Lunar Colony together, and it’s very likely that Hammond has a major grudge to settle with them for their illegal and unethical treatment of great apes in the moon colony.

And the one you’re actually reading this longass post for:

9. Gabriel and Jack begin the process of reconciliation.

Yes, it’s “hopeful,” perhaps blindingly so, but isn’t that the whole point of Overwatch? Isn’t that what the game is about? ...Okay, ignore the part where two teams of six people go and shoot each other in Hollywood backlots - once you get past that part, isn’t Overwatch about hope? About heroes? About how anyone and everyone can be a hero in their own right?

And doesn’t every “hero” need a “villain”?

(even if he is pretty frustrated with his...rather incompetent lackeys.)

After all -

this is a song and dance they’ve done for nearly thirty years.

Soldier: 76: Well. You sure take to this “bad guy thing” easily, don't ya?

Reaper: And you sure know how to play “boy scout.”

According to Michael Chu’s 2017 GDC talk “Thinking Globally: Building the Optimistic Future of Overwatch”:

“What’s important to us is that [the villains’] motivations are not purely rooted in being evil, despite how they might seem on the surface. As we reveal more about these characters, we want people to be able to empathize and understand their beliefs. Because sometimes what makes a villain a villain is the extent to which they’re willing to go to reach their goals. And one thing that we find most important when we’re talking about our villain characters is that there is nothing to say that a villain cannot be as charismatic or more charismatic or as likeable as a hero character - because, like the old saying goes, ‘every villain is the hero of their own story.’”

And what better way to get someone to trust you -

Than to “sell out” a longtime ally and partner to further the goals of your “new organization”

And play the part of the “villain?”

But who is going to be there to cover his back and defend his actions this time?

Soldier: 76: One of these days someone is gonna to put an end to you.

Reaper: I invite them to try.

Sombra, the hacker with her own agenda? Widowmaker, the sniper who feels alive only when she kills? Moira, the one who possibly made him this way?

Or perhaps him -

His “best war buddy”

The one who loved him back -

Who calls himself by a number that only Gabe will recognize the full history and “depth of relationship” behind.

And the last one:

10. I think we will eventually see what Gabriel’s actual “careful planning” is.

Whether that’s bringing Talon down or stopping Recalled Overwatch, we don’t know yet -

But you know the drill by now.

There’s the honest answer

and the hopeful one.

And you can guess which one I’m willing to place my bets on.

942 notes · View notes

kyeugh · 6 years

Text

Dave and Katherine Discuss Real Life

Author’s Note: this is just a little thing i threw together after reading @antialiasis’ Morphic because the sad ending left me wondering about the future. i originally had plans for it to go further, but i’m not really interested in making this a long-term project, at least for the time being, haha. anyway, i hope you enjoy it!

Calm down now. Be cool.

Katherine took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked damn good. She didn’t think such things very often, but right now, she had no shame in admitting it. She was a little off base in some places, sure— her eyes were rather squinty, for example, and her nose was much too small and high— but you didn’t have to be perfect to look your best, and she certainly did.

Oh, there was also the trio of green horns sticking out of her head, and the fact that her hands were in fact giant roses. But those were minor details, really, hardly worthy of address. At least, that’s what she had to tell herself if she had any hope of making her case.

“Ms. Harrison, five minutes.”

Katherine nodded. “I’m just about ready,” she replied, glaring at her hair in the mirror. She wished she could do something with it. Its utter plainness was all the more obvious when contrasted with her rather fetching pantsuit. Oh, and don’t even get her fucking started on the pantsuit. No one would ever appreciate it for what it was, that being nothing short of a miracle. Just try putting on a tight shirt when your hands are roses and your head is covered in thorns.

Christ, what was she doing? Ruminating on her clothes? In less than five minutes, she would leave her house and step into a car, which would bring her all the way to the town courthouse. How long had it been since she’d been to town? In a car? Outside of her neigborhood, even?

She took a final look at herself in the mirror. Flawed. Perfect. Plain. Beautiful. Human. Pokémon. It was hard to describe someone like her concisely, but that’s just who she was. A mix-up. And today, she was going to change things for all the other mix-ups. Today, years of hard work would finally come to fruition. After hours and hours spent poring over books and articles and wiki pages and proceeding transcripts and histories and everything else imaginable, teaching herself the inner workings of this particular corner of law, Katherine had finally reached the day she’d been long preparing for.

Today, Katherine would testify before the city court to free the Pokémorphs from their perpetual house arrest. And, with any luck, today would be the day she was finally freed.

Unfortunately, David Ambrose woke up.

“Agh, fuck.” His head pounded as he rolled to the side, his eyes scrambling desperately into focus before resting on the alarm clock on his nightstand. 12:17. “Shit.”

Didn’t he have something today? The, uh… The thing. Fuck. What the fuck was it?

Dave flopped onto his back again and was just about to shut his eyes and fall back into the sweet embrace of sleep when he saw something taped to the ceiling. What the fuck? He squinted at it, rubbing his forehead as though it would actually do something for the pain.

It was an index card, and he could just make out the text. It read: “Court case. Katherine. 11:30, don’t forget.”

Ah, fuck. Well, he hadn’t forgotten, at least. He’d overslept, which was at the very least outside of his control… Though, if the taint of beer on his breath was to be trusted, it probably _was _in his control after all. But whatever. He’d probably have slept in until noon anyway. Right?

Groaning, he sat up and fumbled for the remote on his nightstand, nearly knocking over his alarm clock and table lamp in the process. When at last he found it, he switched on the television and turned it to channel one.

There she was, in all her morphic glory. Dave had never seen her so dressed up— she wore it wonderfully, though he found the buttons that ran along the back seam of the sleeves amusing. So that’s how she’d fit it on despite her hands…

A marquee rolled across the bottom of the screen. Dave wasn’t yet conscious enough to read it all, but he got the gist. Katherine was still making her case for the humanity of the Pokémorphs, and arguing that the Dangerous Nonhuman Act was unconstitutional— or, at least, it was unconstitutional in its application to the Pokémorphs. Dave had heard the argument a million times. He’d even helped write it. He could only hope she delivered it well, though he’d never resort to fucking praying, thank you very much. If anyone knew how important delivery was, it was him. It was definitely, fucking definitely him.

“—aware that the media paints us as half-human, half-Pokémon hybrids,” Katherine said, her voice cool but just shaky enough for it to be perceptible. Well, Dave sure as hell didn’t blame her. At least she was talking fucking sense. He’d seen way more severe television blunders on similar topics in his days, to say the least. But it didn’t take much to outperform fucking Brian, of all people. Dave didn’t realise he was shaking his head until he felt it pounding in protest.

“However, this is simply not the case. You will notice by the upright posture and intelligent behaviour of not only myself but my peers that we are much more human than anything else. As per the lab report, in fact, we are almost entirely human, with some Pokémonic genes spliced in. So, modified as we may be, Pokémorphs cannot be described as ‘nonhuman’ any more than, say, a black person, or a disabled person might be. There are simply different genes at play, but we look and behave and think the same way as anyone else. The line between human and non is blurred, to be sure, but i think that given my substantial evidence, even the most resistant will see that we are just like everyone else.”

Dave shook his head. Fuck. It was too early in the morning for this shit, and he had very important things to do today. He always did. Such as reflecting on what little he’d seen as he made his way to the kitchen.

Katherine was a fairly good public speaker, you had to give her that. But that was only true on some accounts. She presented herself confidently, true, and she vocalised without timidity. She was a proud and strong speaker. And yet, what on God’s green fucking Earth was she talking about? While he could agree that the Pokémorphs were primarily human, why he hell did she think to compare that to race and, fuck it all, disability? Well, whatever. It wasn’t Dave’s case. If he’d wanted it done better, he’d have just done it himself. This wasn’t about him. It was about the Pokémorphs, and it was also (purely by chance) about everything Dave had worked toward for the past ten yeaoh goddamn it who was he kidding.

Katherine couldn’t fuck this up. She just couldn’t. To her credit, she had a sound argument when she wasn’t botching her attempts at injecting political buzzwords. If the judge had any reason at all, he’d see her point and rule in her favor. But in truth, Dave had come to distrust the public sector a long time ago.

He’d come to distrust a lot of things, actually. Sometimes he wondered whether his drinking habits should be one of them. Even still, he produced a fresh beer from the refrigerator and cracked it open, taking a good sip. Christ, why the fuck was alcohol in the morning looked down on? There was nothing in the world like a cool splash of beer on a dry, scratchy morning throat. Absolute fucking ecstasy.

Dave took the can to his recliner and fell into it, leaning forward and taking healthy sips as he stared off into the distance, into his regrets, surrounded by a rather impressive castle of beer cans and the persistent drone of the courtcase on the television in front of him. His throne. It was another day in the life of the once-great David Ambrose.

If he had been watching the television, of course, he might have seen something very important. Game-changing, even. But, of course, it was absolutely nothing like Dave to see important things until it was entirely too late. Who did he have to blame but himself?

Literally everyone, obviously.

Sighing, he turned his gaze to the portraits that sat on his shelf. He wasn’t the sentimental type, but, well… He wasn’t the sentimental type. Having a bunch of your kids die tended to change some things about you.

He regarded the images somberly.

Will was such a sweet kid. He’s the last one you’d expect to get shot. But that also made him the likeliest. That’s what happened to sweet kids. It happened to Brian, too. When you’re in peril and you can’t stand up for yourself, you get a bullet in the fucking head. No golden charm was going to deflect that. Dave sniffed a little, and took a long drink of his beer.

Mia. Christ. What a character. And yet, Dave found himself thinking that her loss was perhaps one of the most profound ones the world would ever know. He knew he was wrong for allowing himself to choose favorites and value one life over another, but… Mia was something else. She was unstable. She was terrifying. She was a psychopath. But there was something beautiful about that. She was all of those things because she was supposed to be. They had always been here. They were not defects. They were woven into her DNA as solidly as the colour of her hair or the shape of her face. It was who she was. And now it was all gone.

Nothing personal, of course. Purely scientific. She was a marvel, biologically. Well, they all were, to be fair. But she was something else. Sometimes it seemed like she was more Scyther than anything. There was real scientific potential there. He should’ve tested her more. Should’ve prodded her. Picked her mind apart and figured out what she really was on the inside.

Well, there was nothing on the inside now, and there was no sense moping over it. Dave finished his beer, then crushed the can in his hand and threw it backward haphazardly. It fell amid a pile of similarly crushed cans, at least three dozen in number.

It was going to be a long-ass fucking day.

“Your honor, if i may.” Daniels’ voice was so damn smug that Katherine could hardly resist leaping over the bench and socking him in his face. There were two reasons she couldn’t do that, however. Firstly, the public already erred on the side of Pokémorphs being extra dangerous and violent, so her case would certainly not be helped by flagrant aggression. Secondly, her hands were roses, and she suspected they may not be very good for punching anyway.

“The plaintiff raises valid points, of course,” he continued snidely. Grr. “Points worth considering. However, it seems to me, with all due respect, like she’s gracefully failing to address the Mamoswine in the room, as it were.”

The judge raised an eyebrow. “That being?”

“Mia Kerrigan, your honor.”

The audience burst into quiet but energetic chatter.

Mia. Of course.

“Order!” the judge cried. “Continue, Mr. Daniels.”

Daniels happily obliged.“Mia Kerrigan was a proven psychopath. All witness accounts corroborate claims of her violence and dispassion. She attacked with little provocation, and herself provoked others, seemingly searching for reasons to fight or even creating them. Such behavior is consistent with the observed behavior of Scyther, and in human beings is antisocial to the point of justifying asylum. If the animal genes could have affected the mind of Mia Kerrigan in such a way as to make her unfit for human interaction, your honor, why should we assume her fellow Pokémorphs are any better off, when they are purportedly equally human? After all, we do know that several of the surviving Morphs were personally responsible for the tragic deaths of several men of the Church of Holy Truth.”

Katherine stood abruptly, heat rising to her face, heart leaping in her chest. How could he say something like that? “I object, your honor,” she said through clenched teeth with all the tact she could muster. “The kills made by the Pokémorphs are shown by the court of law to be in self-defence, and are not valid evidence against the humanity of our kind.” Even as she said it, she could feel Daniels’ smug grin. It doesn’t matter, he’d be thinking. The seeds of fear have been sown. “Mia Kerrigan was a psychopath, it’s true. There’s simply no denying it. However, her mental state is not indicative of any of the rest— there is no evidence to suggest that any of the other Pokémorphs are psychopathic in the least, and none of us have committed violent acts apart from the Church of Holy Truth incident, which as i stated previously was self-defensive. And, for what it’s worth, you don’t put psychopaths in asylums. They walk free just like everyone else, until they commit a crime. Which Mia didn’t.”

Daniels’ grin had faded. She was right, and he knew it. Or he knew she was technically right, at least. If he was anything like his cousins, Katherine knew he was fare more malicious than he was letting on. But you simply couldn’t in court. Katherine almost wished he would. Then everyone could see what a sham he was once and for all, and the support of the judge would be hers for certain.

No one else spoke, so Katherine continued. “Besides, that’s a matter of mental stability, which, while admittedly influenced by our Pokémorph genes, has nothing to do with our status as human. Your honor, i believe the truth is evident here. Despite our appearances and minor differences, we Pokémorphs are no less human than any other person in this courtroom. Our segregation is unjust and should be repealed immediately. I see no reason to believe otherwise, and none has been presented.”

And that was true. Daniels had sure said lots of things about Pokémorphs over the last few hours, most of them bad and some of them true. But none of them had anything to do with their status as human. And that’s what the case was about.

The judge’s softening impression implied that she agreed. “A fine point, Ms. Harrison.” Daniels tried rather poorly to keep his fear from spreading to his face as she spoke. “The court rules in favor of the Pokémorphs. They are hereby excluded from the provisions of the Dangerous Nonhuman Act, and otherwise protected against further discrimination by the full power of this land’s constitution.” She slammed her gavel with a resounding and unbelievable satisfying, crack. And it was all over. “Case dismissed.”

Katherine fell into her seat, lightheaded. And for the first time in a decade, free.

“Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck?” Dave sounded more angry than excited, as he often did. But in truth, his heart was leaping in exuberance. “She did it. She really fucking did it. Holy shit.” Still muttering to himself, he looked around for his daughter before remembering they no longer lived together. Fuck, how long had it been? Three years? And he still expected her to be around. Christ.

He grabbed for his phone and began punching in Jean’s number before anxiously holding it to his ear, leaning forward in his chair with anticipation.

“Hello? Dad?”

“Jean,” Dave said, more of an energetic breath than a true utterance. “You… You’re… Fuck.”

“So you heard?”

“Yes, of course i fucking heard. Wait, are we talking about the same thing? Did you watch the fucking—”

“Yes, of course i watched it. We all watched it.”

“So you know that—”

“Yes, Dad. I know. I’m in town right now, actually. God, i forgot how awesome it is here! And did you know you can pay for things with your phone now? You don’t even need credit cards! I mean, people are staring at me weird still, especially now that i’m yelling into a phone, and they probably don’t know that i’m allowed to be here yet so it’s all really weird, but still! Wow! It’s so great to be back out here, i can’t even hardly believe it! And i know i can’t really be Sarah Hooter anymore, and that sucks but i’m over it so whatever, but maybe i can be an actress in something else now? And i think Katherine should be a lawyer forever now, she was so super good. And Gabriel could toootally go into construction or mining or something, i mean he totally jives with rocks and stuff, and Jack… Well, i don’t know! But we can all have jobs now, that’s the point, and we can finally be with people, and even if they look at us weird that’s fine because we’re free, and—”

She continued for a good little while, but Dave stopped listening to the words. That wasn’t the important part. Instead he clung to her voice. The energy, the enthusiasm. It had been gone for years now. Ever since she’d evolved, there had been something off about her. This was it. The cheer. And here it was back.

His daughter was happy again.

Dave revelled in it as she spoke. And when she finally finished, drawing for air to replace all of it she’d just displaced while talking, Dave found himself at a loss for words. For once.

It was a good thing Jean couldn’t hear him cry through the phone.

#writing #morphic #antialiasis

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londoncluster · 3 years

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Migration and Housing

Having an interest in social justice, migration and housing , I joined the program via DesincLive in London

During the course, I want to investigate different possibilities for the long-term housing of migrants. This involves researching structures with the architectural potential as well as questions of socio-cultural development.

During the visit, I will document a specific story of migration and housing in London, linked to the “Windrush generation” and the use of the Clapham South Deep-Level Shelter as a place of refuge.

I will have a reflective and reflexive summary of the projects of my peers, with an underlying thematic of solidarity in hardship as a transversal aspect of the different (inter)actions observed in London and Berlin. Those reflections will be embedded in the presentation when directly linked, and will also take the form of a stand alone chapter at the end of my presentation.

MY VISIT ON THURSDAY JULY the 1st

I planned the visit of the sites as following

Deep-Level Shelter at Clapham South. Credit photo Agnes Fouda

Here is a link to the (short version) video that I made of the site visit :

https://share.icloud.com/photos/01NAP4Oe866hFS3lBjYh3RYBQ#London

Why Clapham South Deep-Level Shelter?

The site piked my interest because it was home to the very first generation of the “Windrush migrants” who came to the UK from Jamaica in 1948, at the invitation of the British government aiming at solving the shortage of labour subsequent to the Second World War.

The site at Clapham South is not the only structure of the sort : there were in total 8 underground tunnels locations built as bomb shelters in London, but Clapham South is the one that became house per se to Windrush migrants. In 2016, it opened to the public as part of the TFL’ s hidden London tours, but is currently closed indeed because of Covid ; therefore I had to rely on the internet to find pictures of the inside :

Overview of the structure . Credit photo Transport Museum of London

Inside one of the tunnels. Credit photo Transport Museum of London

Residents shielding from the bombings inside the Shelter. Credit photo Wikimedia

The temporary measure put in place for the London population to shelter from the bombings became for the Windrush migrants a longer term solution . The parallel is easy to draw with today, as migrants and vulnerable populations of any background are often kept in so-called temporary accommodations (when it happens) for lenghty periods of time. An interlocutor from #Berlin mentioned incidentally that the question was raised before the authorities in charge, of the definition of temporary, given that migrants (and homeless for the matter) are staying in the #Marzahn shelters for many years in a row.

Furthermore, the current political sub-categorisation of migrants also affects the likeliness of accessing a shelter in the first place, let alone a hypothetical stable housing : indeed, a refugee, a stowaway, a “boza”, an undocumented, a documented-but-in-hardship migrant will have different rights and treatments, at least from the government. Could it be, therefore, a viable option to transform the temporary into more permanent by making the necessary changes, be it structural, architectural, cosmetic or administrative, or is my view too simplistic and naive?

By any means, living conditions in shelters are usually not ideal, neither were they at Clapham South in 1948. BBC’s Bethan Bell, in 2018, penned an account titled “Going underground: The Windrush arrivals' subterranean dormitories”. The article quotes a resident describing the accommodation as "primitive and unwelcoming, like a sparsely furnished rabbit's warren". Below is a link to the said article :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44483090

1948, three gentlemen from Jamaica settling in the Shelter. Credit photo Getty Images

Having tried to interrogate the very few (it was early morning) passers-by to no avail, I decided to set forth to visit the next site : the Black Cultural Archives located in Brixton.

The Black Cultural Archives (BCA) building in Windrush Square, Brixton. Credit photo Agnes Fouda

I wanted to find tangible documentation about the situation of the Windrush generation and their housing conditions back then and as of today. The BCA is a repository of their journey and narrative, and this aspect of legacy and preservation is also important when related to migration, precarity and displacement. The same preoccupation and urgency of preservation, I observed the day before at #Clitterhouse farm, and even though not related to migration nor housing per se, it has been implemented for the sake of a community which was about to be amputated of a significant historical landmark when the developers of the nearby Brent Cross shopping mall set forth to destroy the 14th century building. It is telling that in #makingthecity, historicity and cultural background are integral part of the comprehensiveness.

In addition to the Clapham South Deep-Level Shelter and the Black Cultural Archives, the site of the Stockwell Deep-Level Shelter was interesting for my investigation. Therefore, I added a virtual visit via a Youtube video link which I found on the channel :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq-ofhGwS6c&list=RDCMUCMB8HFoi_QUoGsoRRHyZGAQ&start_radio=1&rv=fq-ofhGwS6c&t=149&t=149

(The mark for the Stockwell Deep-Level Shelter is at 2:33.)

The significance of it is that the Deep-Level Shelter at Stockwell is now used as an archive ; it also stands out due to the artwork that adorns it and the nearby first statue of a British African Lady. I thought, therefore, that it was a good way to liaise all the components of my topic by incorporating it to the visit, albeit virtually.

Stockwell Deep-Level Shelter. Credit Photo DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0" https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stockwell_Deep_Level_Shelter_Entrance_-_Diliff.jpg

The BCA

I met with #Santiago in front of the BCA building, and we both headed inside.

We first heard from “K” - at the front desk, a very knowledgeable gentleman who gave an in-depth context of the choice of Clapham South deep-level shelter : discrimination, says he, was the main reason, the migrants being unable to rent from the predominantly White Caucasians landlords.

Discrimination in the open back in the days. Credit photo Wikimedia

The government had no other choice than to use the facility for their housing until the newly arrived were able to find a place to live. An account from the BBC reports that within 4 weeks of their arrival, the Windrush migrants were able to get out of the shelter and find a more suitable place. I wanted to assess the affirmation, knowing that until before the Race Relations Act of 1965, it was common to find this :

So how were the migrants able to find work and housing? Are there reliable accounts to base an analysis on? Are there witnesses of the time still alive whom I can talk to? What has changed in terms of housing for that generation and their offspring? Has the housing discrimination totally disappear, what is going on exactly in that regard, do you still live at your parents’ and can we interview them?

Those were overwhelming questions for the receptionist who was about to finish his shift and leave, advising us to make an appointment with another person at a later time, but then something (un)expected happened.

Listening nearby and unbeknown to us was a Lady who then took the relay in the conversation. Santiago and I found ourselves soon interacting with her, Ms Assata Nzingha, who is a living archive on her own right. It was a stroke of luck and a high privilege.

Assata Nzingha (right) and this writer. Credit photo Santiago Poneyra.

Parts of our conversation here :

https://youtu.be/Rz5G6ASTZEs (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zghIVHNLTFM (audio)

In the video, we can hear that prior to obtaining a dedicated venue for their activities, the initiators of the Black Cultural Archives would take turn gathering in their houses. It is an occurrence in the migrant community that is not often observed within the practices of the locals ; the migrant house often serves as a circumstantial vector for the community needs. The variety of events that can be hosted in mirrors the fluidity and porosity of the relatives circle. Seldom abode to nuclear family, the house was considered primary as a tool or accessory for helping the peers. Only was it considered otherwise when a sustainable number of other migrants had been able to settle on their own - thus replicating the cycle anew. When she immigrated at 7 years old, Assata Nzingha’s father was the owner of 2 houses, one for his family , the other rented out. Who knows how many people were first welcome free of charge until Papa was able to morally afford to put a property for rental?

The audio is a very poor quality because we were sitting in the library and other visitors were talking. Grosso modo, I asked Ms Assata Nzingha why did Windrush generation settled in Brixton. She explained that it was a part of the city that was in a very bad state, with run-downed houses, and that it was subsequently the ones that the migrants at the time could afford. Doesn’t it ring a bell, Berlin and Milan?

I wonder what factors comes into play for the descendent of the Windrush generation when it comes to choose a place to live ; do they inherit the houses of their elders? Do they move out of the neighbourhood depending of their financial standing or social status? Also, how many of the Brixton homes are still owned by the very family of the original buyer? Those lines of inquiry might not get an answer right away but it would be interesting to know where, why and how the new generation of “Windrush” elect their place of abode, and how new housing models like Airbnb and Couchsurfing are playing in the field of migrant solidarity.

#Solidarity in hardship

An interesting point in the audio is the mention by Assata Nzingha of the #pardner that the migrants organised in order to buy properties in Brixton. It touches to the theme of #solidarity in hardship that I observed during the different visits.

Definition of a pardner by an online source : “In simple terms, a pardner is where a group of people pool their money together by handing over a set amount each week or month. ... The banker hands over all the contributions in a week or month, called the draw, to the person whose turn it is to get paid. Everyone usually joins at the start for a set period”.

This type of money handling is very much ingrained in the African tradition ; its importation and implementation as a coping mechanism to face the duress of #accesstohousing and #ownership is simply remarkable. It is one of the many ways that the migrant communities are actively supporting their own : #Santiago is pointing out that Elephant and Castle is a hub for real estate offers in Spanish aimed at the Latin American community. As it was before the demolition of the #Elephant and Castle market site, the phenomenon is very much alive to this day.

A Colombian store at Elephant & Castle. Credit photo Agnes Fouda

Above is one of the many businesses that Maha, Rowan and I visited with Santiago on the site of the redevelopment of Elephant and Castle. Distriandina is located in the Arches, selling delicious array of “productos”. While the main purpose is commercial, it also serves as a beacon of solidarity for the community. The Latin american population is quite numerous in London, and have settled mainly in the Elephant and castle vicinity ; after decades of harbouring an heterogeneous and vibrant universe of traders, the site was torn down in 2019 to make room for a new shopping mall. Faced with uncertainty regarding their relocation, the Latin american traders relied on the collective #Latinelephant to defend their interests before the stakeholders. While some traders have been allocated new business venues, others are still awaiting for a suitable offer. In cases like these, solidarity is vital for the survival of groups or individuals. From subletting a unit, or making room on the easement for a stall, traders have found a way to not let their people down. In term of housing, it would be interesting to investigate further the different ways of coping besides the ads, “anuncios”, encountered on the walls of the businesses, in the Spanish-written newspapers or other locations.

The #solidarity in hardship, I also witnessed it at #Clitterhouse farm during the visit organised by Maha. As mentioned before, it is not specifically related to the matter of migrant housing, however it is worthy and noticeable as a project of #inclusion, #solidarity,#perseverance. In effect, the building that hosts the #Clitterhousefarm project, is way more than what meets the eyes. When entering the premises, one is facing a huge field on the left - old training facility of the Hendon football club ; on the right, barely perceptible at the moment of entering, is a long bricked wall covered with images that blend into the surrounding vegetation; a few steps forward, a right turn and here are a big parking lot, and garden partially enclosed , all adjacent to the front facade which main entrance is concealed by a colourful MDF fence : the site, under construction, has been threatened by the Brent Cross redevelopment project that affects the neighbourhood and its surrounding. But, like the last Gaul village in Asterix, a group of defiant people has been fighting the invasion of developers, rallying overtime the support of the community at large.

The Clitterhouse farm. Credit photo Agnes Fouda

Maha has just indicated that there should be a cafe opening in the coming months. For now, the structure hosts Saturday family gatherings ; while pacing around, admiring the grass-roots garden and what I guess will serve as tables for the cafe, I cannot help but think that scores of old and abandoned buildings are awaiting to be, maybe, revived by hopeful cohorts of migrants, refugees or the homeless.

Paulette, one of the director of the collective #Ouryard, eventually came to greet us with a beautiful infant carried on her tummy. She led us along the aforementioned painted wall, retrieved a key and from there we fell into the rabbit hole. The backyard. Surprising, totally unexpected, big, cluttered and belonging to a tools repair businessman. #Maha and #Rowan will correct me, but Paulette explained that it is the said businessman who actually owns a leasehold to the premises, and that, because they are getting along - she has been able to negotiate and be granted, gratuitously at times, more space after more space to expand the #Clitterhousefarm project. The barter proves absolutely successful and is sticking with me as a definite model of good cohabitation in the prospect of #makingthecity.

Conversely and sadly, the principle of #solidarityinhardship is not universal nor automatic, as heard from S27 regarding the clashes between #homeless and #refugees in Marzahn. Yet both communities are supposed to share the same combat at least when it comes to housing. Why would some be shunned by the others, and vice versa? Is it the additional precarity that exacerbates the conflicts? Does a more stable housing situation quells the antagonising? Does solidarity rhymes only with same community? Those questions and many more , I would like to further explore. For now, I am happy and thankful that the workshop and projects have opened my eyes to details and considerations that might have not crossed my mind otherwise. One thing is certain, I shall never look at #London the same way as before.

A.F

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hg47 · 3 years

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47 Reasons Why I Fear Islam - (Reason 40)

-40-I am suspicious of a religion which demands total and absolute slavery from its members. ++++------- ALI DASHTI: “The God of the Koran is cruel, angry, and proud—qualities not to be admired.” Dashti died in 1984 after spending three years in Khomeini’s prisons, where he was tortured despite his age of eighty-three. ++++------- A quote from J. ROSENBLUM: The Western media consistently downplays the scope of Islamic threat, perhaps in an effort to calm its fears. The overwhelming majority of Muslims worldwide are peace-loving fellows, we are assured, and only a handful of bad apples spoil the image of the rest. Ignored are the worldwide network of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabi mosques and the vast number of Muslim Brotherhood-inspired offshoots…not just al-Qaida and Hamas, but groups in Western countries promoting Shari’a as the only legitimate system of law. ++++------- tweet ~ 2011 Pew study finds Muslims are more “phobic” of non-Muslims than non-Muslims are “Islamophobic” of Muslims. ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/05/17/bipartisan-folly-our-islam-delusion/ Michael Youssef on the 90% of Islamic nations that signed the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right to freedom of religion, nations which all define “freedom of religion” as being a slave to Allah without the commotions of any other religions. @hg47 says – About a year ago, an Egyptian Christian protester and an Egyptian Muslim protester were both caught in a photograph, both holding different signs in English declaring that they wanted FREEDOM! It seemed they were joined together in temporarily wanting the same thing. A gem of a multicultural moment. “Buzzzzzzzzzzzzt!” Incorrect. Both these protesters, however, wanted totally different things. The Christian wanted freedom from Islamic interference in his Christian behavior. The Muslim wanted to be free of distractions (the elimination of Christians) from his perfect slavery to Islam. http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Freedom ++++------- http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/17/world/meast/iraq-damon/index.html?iid=article_sidebar The train wreck of post-war Iraq, with everyone blaming everyone else for what went wrong. ++++------- http://frontpagemag.com/2011/dgreenfield/five-reasons-to-ban-the-burqa/ From the article by Daniel Greenfield, FIVE REASONS TO BAN THE BURQA: 5. The Wearing of the Burqa is Enforced Through Violence @hg47 says – Of some interest, some of the people I work with are refugees from Iraq, mostly Christian, but occasionally a Muslim or two. I don’t ask, but I am interested in what is happening in the Middle East, and occasionally the question of religion will come up in conversation. Iraqi refugees are expert former eye-witnesses. One Christian mentioned that Muslim families that he knew in Iraq who were now here comported themselves completely differently. In Iraq, the women in these families did not go veiled. This surprised me. But here in the States, all the women, even the little girls in those families, are now all bundled up in public. I’m not sure what that is all about. I am also informed that the more moderate Muslim families in the U.S. sometimes celebrate Christmas, exchanging gifts during the season, and buying a Christmas tree, and decorating it, putting up outside colored lights around their apartments. The whole nine yards. I’m also not sure what that is all about. ++++------- A quote from AMIL IMANI: Freedom in all its forms, highly prized by free people, is taboo in Islam. The duty of the true believer is to completely surrender [her or] his humanness and will to the will of Allah as required in the Quran and dictated by the clergy. ++++------- http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/568999/201104131804/How-Free-Israel-Prospers-As-Islam-Remains-In-Dark.htm Chuck Devore has some interesting stats comparing Israel’s growth (under a free system) versus Arab stagnation (chained down by Islam). For example: Israel’s per capita output of intellectual property is 132 times greater than Saudi Arabia’s. ++++------- http://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132711102/pakistans-lesbians-live-in-silence-love-in-secret Story about how life in Pakistan is like living in prison; how Pakistan’s Lesbians Live In Silence, Love In Secret. ++++------- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-kelhawk/wikileaks-expose-cracks-i_b_789615.html Terry Kelhawk asks some interesting questions in this article: 1) When one nation wants chaos and war, how can another make peace with it? 2) How do neighboring and declared enemy nations respond to one which does not want peace and openly states its apocalyptic goals? ++++------- tweet ~ Muslims in Denmark make up 5% of the population but receive 40% of social-welfare outlays. ~ verify at: http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics ++++------- A Jane Kramer quote from TAKING THE VEIL: “More often the girls were under orders [to wear a veil] from their fathers and uncles and brothers, and even their male classmates. For the boys, transforming a bluejeaned teen-age sister into a docile and observant ‘Muslim’ virgin was a rite de passage into authority, the fast track to becoming a man, and more important, a Muslim man…it was also a license for violence.” ++++------- A quote from Citizen Warrior: Islam must be your first allegiance. This is a great idea to add to the collection if the goal is world domination. You are a Muslim first, before any allegiance you give to your family, your tribe, or your country. [Or your sex.] ++++------- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/15/islam-and-democracy-can-a_n_763486.html (I probably won’t be vacationing there.) Vishal Arora writing on the Maldives, a pretty chain of about a thousand Islamic islands. ++++------- http://www.amazon.com/Slavery-Terrorism-Islam-Peter-Hammond/dp/1612154980/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378266788&sr=1-1&keywords=SLAVERY%2C+TERRORISM+AND+ISLAM+by+Peter+Hammond In SLAVERY, TERRORISM AND ISLAM: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat, Peter Hammond breaks down Muslim behavior according to their percentages within different nations. Statistics slightly dated, but the trends are still valid. Interesting reading. And a bit scary for the survival of representative democracy and the Western way of life. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Go-To-41+ +Go-To-Beginning-Of-47-REASONS-WHY-I-FEAR-ISLAM+

#islam

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rea212-blog · 4 years

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How to Learn Vocabulary Quickly and Effectively

Are you up to learning how to study vocabulary using the strategies that experts use to double, even triple, their brain’s capacity to memorize info? You may have already seen people who can memorize huge amounts of information, or you’ve heard of polyglots who easily speak 10 languages or more. Do you think that you could never be one of those people because you just don’t have a good memory? One of the things that often seems the most difficult to learn is vocabulary. But with the right strategies, it’s actually the easiest part. In fact, what is needed to effectively learn vocabulary is you, your brain, and your motivation to strengthen your memory. You don’t have to be a genius – it’s within everyone’s reach!

How Does Memory Work?

A network of neurons

Think about it. Our brain is made up of a titanic sized network of neurons. Hundreds of millions of cells! Neurons transmit electric and chemical signals to other neurons. Each neuron is capable of connecting to tens of thousands of other neurons. Imagine all the possible combinations! It’s even more impressive than the most powerful computer and all the devices hooked up to the Internet. Yep, it can be crazy to think about these numbers, but it’s all going on in our heads – 24/7. So if you think that there’s no room left in your brain to learn a language, or that you’re “too old,” think again. Go tell that to the polyglot who speaks 10 languages and is working on new ones every day!

An important concept to consider is that neurons never stop connecting and disconnecting from one another. That’s how our brain and memory work. These connections between neurons can be more or less strong, and there can be more or less of them. Now that you have some insight into how your brain works, let’s find out how to study vocabulary most effectively.

Associations

That’s why our brain works so well when remembering by association. When you can say that you know a word, it means that there are numerous connections that are strong enough to create pathways to this word in your memory. It also means that the pathways are very short, and therefore transmit information fast. For example, if I tell you “big clock in London,” you’ll probably think of Big Ben right away. Or, if I say, “statue of woman in New York,” “Statue of Liberty” will probably pop into your head before I’ve even finished my statement. Your brain has gone looking for information based on the clues I gave you, and has come up with it very quickly, since you have lots of pathways or associations to these monuments. When you think of these words, associations to other ideas or even feelings may be conjured up…

However, it’s important to remember that connections between neurons weaken if they are not regularly used. That’s why they say that if you don’t use your brain, it goes to waste. My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a terrible disease. A study has shown that learning another language decreases the risk of developing this disease, since language learners are constantly creating new neural pathways and giving existing ones a workout. In other words, learning a language keeps your brain young!

That also explains why, when you learn a new word but don’t review or use it right away, you usually forget it. If the neural connections used to store the word are not used, they will weaken and eventually disappear (refer to the forgetting curve and the spaced repetition system for more info on this).

So, now that you know all that, how can you learn vocab without wasting time?

What Does It Take to Remember a Word?

If you’re wondering how to study vocabulary, look no further. Here’s a quick reminder of what is most important when you learn new words. If you follow these steps, you won’t waste any time or energy:

memorize meaning – the most obvious step. You don’t have to learn and memorize the meaning by looking up the translation in a dictionary. It’s even better to connect the new word to an image or to your own definition, especially since most words don’t have one perfect translation.

memorize spelling. But you can ignore spelling if your goal is strictly speaking. Thinking about spelling in some languages might even mess up your pronunciation.

memorize pronunciation. A very important step that is too often ignored. It’s vital for certain languages, like English, whose spelling is different from its pronunciation (see our articles on English pronunciation for more information). It’s better to learn the correct pronunciation from the very beginning than having to go back and correct bad habits.

memorize use. If it’s a simple noun, that’s usually not too hard to do, but for other types of words it’s important to know when and how to use it (our apps provide example sentences, which show how a word might typically be used).

This might seem like a lot of work to memorize just one word, but rest assured, we’re going to present many techniques for optimizing the learning process and making it worth the effort.

How to Learn Vocabulary Most Efficiently

Reactivate knowledge by spacing out review time

This is one of the most important aspects to this article. Simply repeating a word you just learned ten times in a row is useless. You need to space out the repetitions of the word. Of course, the number of review sessions depends on the word and your personal struggles. For example: review the word for the first time 10 minutes after you learn it, again after 8 hours, again after 24 hours, again after 3 days, 10 days, 25 days, etc.

This technique will enable you to store vocabulary in your long-term memory and spend the least amount of time reviewing.

Learn the most useful vocabulary first with frequency lists

It’s very important to base your learning on the frequency of use of vocabulary words. It’s a simple concept. How to learn vocabulary fast? Don’t waste your time on words you’ll never use. Why would you learn words and phrases that people rarely use in conversation (curiously, lots of these words are still in our language textbooks)?

If you understand 100 of the English words from this list, you can probably understand 50% of written English. Of course, I recommend going beyond that and learning more words, but it just goes to show how important frequency lists are.

Here is one great frequency list that you can check out, thanks to Wiktionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists Some lists have been created by analyzing thousands of movies and TV subtitles found online.

How to Memorize Words – A Few Tricks

Spaced repetition permits quick, effortless vocab memorization. But sometimes, certain words or phrases may seem harder to remember than others. In this case, turn to these strategies for help etching the words into your memory. Here are some tips and tricks about how to learn vocabulary.

Think about images

All of the big experts in memorization agree on one thing: to have a good memory, you must be able to make mental visualizations. If you have to remember information, try to associate it to an image. In language learning, it’s especially important to come up with mental images. If I have to remember the word “soleil” (French for “sun”), I’ll have an easier time if I associate the word with an image of the sun.

How to create an effective mental image

You want to come up with very specific images so that you can remember particular characteristics or nuances of meaning. An effective mental illustration should meet the following 4 criteria: exaggeration, movement, creative association and emotional reaction.

Exaggeration

A good mental image should be exaggerated so that its dimensions and proportions are not realistic. If you want to remember the word for “foot,” you may think of an enormous foot stomping on grapes, or someone with on very hairy foot. Whatever you do, make it an unforgettable image.

Movement

Our attention is better caught by things in movement than things that are static. That’s why images in movement are better recorded by our brain. If you want to remember the Spanish vocabulary word “coche” (car), think about a car racing down the street.

Creative association

Groups of people and objects that you usually put together are considered routine, and they won’t be special or remarkable. But if you make creative and bizarre associations, they will have a better chance of sticking out in your mind. The new association pushes your brain to process the word, so this is quite a powerful trick. Some examples? To remember the word livre (book), think about a cat reading a book that he has open between his paws. It’s bizarre, but you won’t forget it!

Emotional reaction

It’s hard to forget people or places that you associate with intense emotion (this could be sadness, joy, fright, anger, etc.). We are often surprised by how well we remember insignificant details. You may go to work every single day and never notice the color of the building’s walls. But if you are old enough, I’m sure you remember the events of September 11th well, including where you were when you got the news, who you were with, and other vivid details. That’s because it was an emotional experience.

Note: Mental images work best when you are the one visualizing them (rather than looking up images online, for instance). This way, they are personalized and easier to remember. Plus, the act of thinking up a mental image is a task that helps you in the memorization process.

Invent fun stories with words

I often use this method for learning hard words like false friends. I use the word to invent a story that I won’t forget.

The sillier, funnier, or even ridiculous that the story is, the better you will remember it. Your imagination has no limits, so for each difficult word, you can make up your own story!

Create ties and relationships between words

Remember our discussion on how the brain works? When you learn new words, it’s helpful to find links with other words that you already know, or to even take advantage of learning new words. That’s why it’s good to learn vocab by category (e.g. travel, food, health)

Sometimes you even look for common roots. For example, you can put “Krankenhaus” (hospital) and “Krankenschwester” (nurse) together in German. Or you can note down all the words that end in “-zione” in Italian, or “-tion” in French, “-ción” in Spanish, and in “-ção” in Portuguese. Associating concepts and words is an efficient way to use your reasoning ability to learn new words. It’s one advantage that adults have over kids.

Deconstruct words

Another interesting and efficient solution to the problem of how to memorize words is to deconstruct words and phrases. If you have to memorize a long number, like a phone number or a credit card, it’s easier to do it in chunks of numbers, right? Well you can do the same with words. In English, to remember “tablecloth,” you can think about: “table” and “cloth” and figure out the meaning easily. You don’t have to have studied Latin, and you don’t need to do a formal linguistic breakdown of a word. Break it down any way that helps you!

If these tricks interest you, take a peek at our article on advice for memorizing difficult information.

Imagine yourself in a context where you’d use these words

You’ve surely noticed that you remember words more easily when they interest you and are of use to you in the immediate future. To learn a language, you don’t have to force yourself to learn vocab that isn’t helpful. That’s why at MosaLingua we dedicate time to picking out and sorting vocabulary and useful expressions. So, one great strategy is to imagine yourself using this word in a pleasant situation. If you want to learn the sentence, “Tu veux venir avec nous pour boire un verre ?” (do you want to come get a drink with us?) you can imagine yourself at a beautiful restaurant in Paris, sitting with your new friends and speaking French fluently. Then, repeat that sentence: “Tu veux venir avec nous pour boire un verre ?”

Check out more tips here.

Use All 3 Types of Memory to Learn New Words^

We often say that people are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (movement) learners. But most people are a combination of all three. If you want to know how to learn vocabulary faster, test out these three types of memory and find out which ones work best for you.

Visual and auditory memory

When we learn a new word, we invent or imagine an image. We also though must think about its pronunciation. Listening to a word said aloud and repeating it aloud is great practice for your brain. It’s s a way to tap into two types of memory that are connected.

Kinesthetic memory

Re-write vocab: Writing requires kinesthetic memory, which is tied to movement. So, it’s often useful to recopy words and sentences that we study, especially when memorizing. You can also work on reading aloud and rewriting in a notebook. Here’s an interesting fact: writing by hand is better than typing on a keyboard.

Movement: When you create mental images of words or concepts, you can also do gestures or body movements to accompany it. It may seem strange, but it works very well. Give it a try! I was skeptical at first, but I forced myself to study pronominal verbs by pretending to brush my teeth, wash my face, and I do think that I know them better now because of this.

Everyone seems to have their own theories on how to learn vocabulary, and their favorite tricks. One of our users reviews vocab words on our app while walking. He told me that it was much more effective for him! (I take no responsibility for possible accidents

Modify Your Environment and Learn New Words Quicker

Choose the right time to focus on memorization

How to learn vocabulary is important, but so is when to learn it. Morning is the ideal time for mental activity. Your brain is refreshed and rested, which allows you to be much more efficient. After a good lunch, you can start to memorize new words and sentences that you’ll study again in the evening before going to bed. Don’t forget to take short breaks to get up and move around.

Sleep well

Sleep plays a major role in your mental processes. Getting enough sleep is too often neglected. But it can really affect your performance. In fact, after a good night’s sleep, not only are you refreshed, but it has been proven that during sleep, your brain reviews the new information that you learned during the day. That’s why repeating words right before bedtime can be very effective.

Change your lifestyle and your eating habits

This can be a particularly challenging task, but we have put together a comprehensive list of easy strategies for making your life more adaptable to learning: Food and Lifestyle Choices for Improving Your Memory

Practice What You Have Learned!

Now that you know how to learn vocabulary, it’s time to practice! Nothing helps your memory more than practice. Not only is it good for consolidating new knowledge, but it’s also a good way to stay motivated. That’s why in this blog we talk about activities that you can do to practice the language you’re learning:

chat online

watch TV shows

listen to music

read

etc.

You should be able to learn and have fun at the same time. With the internet, everything is so simple now that you don’t even need to travel to learn a language (but you can if you want to!).

Now you know all about how to learn vocabulary (and maybe you even learned something about how your brain works in the process). I hope that this article has helped you in your efforts to learn languages! Write your comments and questions below, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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