#(secretly wanting to be seen as cool and that people can depend on me /silly) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

itsclydebitches · 3 years

Note

I kinda wonder, what could bakugou do (hori write bakugou to do) to make him less popular with the "anti" crowd. Like He was a horrid child no doubt and people who try to put blame on Deku or lessen the terrible shit bakugou did aren't great. But as we don't rly see it, we have to assume bakugous behaviour wasn't stopped, we only ever saw his mum "punishing" him when he was being rude after getting kiddnapped. Nothing will excuse what bakugou did, but he has stopped? He's overall a harsh person but he's not harrassing and bullying people anymore, specifically not deku, he's trying to attone for what he did to deku and has now apologised for it. His behaviour was never viewed as justified or good in the series, he's a scary figure in middle school, we're not meant to like his behaviour, so the series itself hasn't justified his actions.

As someone who relate to both bakugou and deku more than I'd like to admit (never told someone to jump tho, that's fucked lol) so I can 100% understand not liking or even hating bakugou but as someone who's not 15 anymore, looking back I also made a lot of really shitty decisions and like bakugou have tried to make up for it, and like deku I was 'friends' with people who hurt me.

Is there anything he can do for the "antis" to just dislike him rather that be "anti"?

(I'm very sorry if you've talked about this somewhere, you can just tell me to look for it if you have, I'll continue to look for your posts on the subject)

Hey there, anon! I think I’ve spoken about this only tangentially and/or in my main Bakugo meta, which is too big for anyone sane to read. So yeah, let’s chat here!

For me personally—and that’s all I can ever do: speak personally. I think it’s important to keep in mind that there is no single solution to please the “anti” crowd. Each fan will be looking for something slightly different in Bakugo’s character, much of which might contradict what a “stan” is currently enjoying. Given how charged a character he is, I'm not sure it's possible to get the entire fandom to like him—what I’m looking for hinges on having a different reading of the story than you seem to. Meaning, I think the series does justify his behavior. Not in any overt, super obvious way like having all the characters go, “Wow, Bakugo! I sure do love how you threaten people all the time. That’s super cool and heroic!” Things are rarely that straightforward. Rather, it’s in a more subtle, but consistent manner that paints a rather conclusive picture across hundreds of chapters.

Simply put, Bakugo is continually rewarded for his actions. Or, if not outright rewarded, his actions are ignored in a way that implies silent acceptance. Characters may not always like what he does... but they're willing to let it slide because Bakugo's heroism was always treated as a given, not something he had to earn and prove.

With the ever necessary disclaimer that I’m not fully caught up yet, here’s a list of some of the things that stood out to me in the first half of the series:

Bakugo’s bullying made him the most popular kid in school.

Bakugo’s bullying was ignored by/outright supported by the teachers.

Bakugo’s bullying did not hinder him from getting into U.A., one of the most prestigious hero schools around.

Despite acting horribly throughout his time at U.A. too, this behavior was continually ignored by the teachers and other authority figures around him.

Bakugo’s struggle to realize that other people aren’t “trash” doesn’t hurt his achievements in any way. He still gets top scores, still wins the tournament, etc.

Bakugo’s behavior gets him special attention from All Might, the greatest hero and Bakugo’s personal idol.

His behavior doesn’t make others dislike him in any manner that’s taken seriously. Everybody is still willing to not just put up with Bakugo, but—in time—start treating his behavior as a quirk (no pun intended lol) that they’re secretly fond of, rather than something he should legitimately be striving to change. Kirishima is the most overt example of this.

This is compounded by his behavior constantly being framed as humorous. Much like with Mineta’s perverted actions, characters might superficially go, “No, that’s bad!” but the story never demands any significant development because then we’d lose the “joke” of Bakugo screaming in rage at the slightest inconvenience, threatening to murder someone over nothing, constantly belittling everyone around him in a “funny” manner, etc. When fans talk about development of a manga character as archetypal and extreme as Bakugo, most don’t really want to see significant change to his base personality. Because then that would result in someone who doesn’t look like the “real” Bakugo: someone nicer, more even-tempered, more mature, etc. But for those of us who were never drawn to that personality in the first place, the continued acceptance of his rude, egotistical, and violent behavior is discomforting. The easiest comparison I can draw is between this and Bakugo’s mother slapping him. That slap is meant to be another “joke”—we see it constantly in shonen anime, something "humorous" you shouldn’t take too seriously because haha, it's just an overprotective mother—but many fans do take it seriously, using it as the basis for a whole “Bakugo was abused and this explains his behavior” reading. Well, I take the “joke” of Bakugo’s threats and insults seriously, especially in a story that starts with something like telling Izuku to jump off the roof. In the same way that many fans want others to treat Bakugo’s mother as a serious topic that has had a negative influence on his development, I want the series to take Bakugo’s everyday actions seriously as a negative influence on… well, everyone around him. But it doesn’t. His base personality is grudgingly adored.

The above two points are seen most overtly in Izuku, who never wavers in his respect for Bakugo despite how Bakugo treats him. Not just prior to U.A., but during their training too. Izuku, as the protagonist, is the emotional heart of this tale, so when he talks about how inspiring Bakugo is, it encourages the reader to see his behavior as inspiring too. Rather than, as said, something that needs to change. Izuku's continued friendship with Bakugo, his adoration of him, and his acceptance of the way he's treated has severely warped how the entire story sees Bakugo's actions. After all, if #pure Izuku can see the good in Bakugo, why can't everyone else? He must not be that bad after all.

I could get into detailed analyses of all the above—like how Bakugo was the one comforted after attacking Izuku outside the dorms at night and how the messed up relationship he has with Izuku is upheld as something to nurture; how the remedial courses he had to take were made to be rather silly, thereby undermining their supposed importance to his development; how Bakugo’s kidnapping had nothing to do with his flaws, but much of the fandom uses it as a way to dismiss any appropriate consequences because, “Hasn’t he suffered enough?” etc.—but in the interest of keeping this within a readable length, I’ll leave it at that. The point is that Bakugo has always been privileged when it comes to his behavior, resulting in others either outright praising it, ignoring it, or demanding that he change a miniscule bit, which always keeps him far below the standards of both his peers and the expectations of a hero. Everyone in 1-A must learn to be even better than the good people they already are... Bakugo needs to learn that other people aren't dirt at the bottom of his shoes. It's never been a particularly impressive development when pit against the rest of the class. All of which can make something like an apology feel pretty hollow. Yes, he’s apologized and I say with all seriousness that that’s great! But how does that apology stack up against 300+ chapters of content? As Bakugo’s words highlight, he's been a really awful person up "until now": he was consumed by Izuku being “miles ahead of [him],” he “looked down on [him]” because he didn’t have a quirk, he “didn’t want to recognize that,” he “hated that,” “grew distant,” “tried to beat you down,” “opposed you and tried to show my superiority over you,” and ends it all with, “it probably doesn’t mean anything telling you all this” before finally getting to the “I’m sorry.” This is basically a laundry list of how horrible a person Bakugo has been for the entire series, with an acknowledgement that this apology is coming really, really late. This is the moment where I could START to like Bakugo, depending on how he acts form here on out, but that pivotal moment arrived after six years of content and in the final arc of the story. It’s too late. Bakugo needed this kind of self-reflection and positive action 250+ chapters ago so he could (hopefully) grow into a better person across the story, not at the story's end. What we got instead is 322 chapters of him being a really horrible person, but the story going out of its way to excuse or even praise that behavior the majority of the time.

As a quick comparison to end on, I think what Bakugo needed was what Soo Jin got in True Beauty. You don’t need to have seen the drama to follow along. The tl;dr is that she has a lot of the core qualities of Bakugo: an all-consuming drive to win that was created due to abusive parents with high expectations, resulting in her bullying a peer to a pretty horrific extent. The difference between them is how the story frames their actions. When Soo Jin becomes the bully she loses everything. Rather than succeeding academically, her grades plummet, making it clear that this anxiety and self-doubt (things the fandom keeps insisting Bakugo is struggling with, but that rarely ever show up in the text) is actually impacting her day-to-day life. Her best friend drops her because she’s not going to support her choices. The boy she likes rejects her. She’s eventually forced to start over somewhere new - which importantly separates her from the girl she was bullying - and get some distance from her parents, resulting in the growth needed to become a healthier, happier, good person again. So when Soo Jin apologizes to the girl she hurt, it feels earned. The story continually recognized how horrific her actions were and put her into a place where she either had to change, or continue losing at everything else that was important to her. Bakugo? Bakugo doesn’t lose. Oh, he claims he does because he’s comparing himself to Izuku constantly, but that’s just him thinking in extremes. He still wins academically. Still wins many battles. Still wins at having friends. Still wins by maintaining the prestige of being a U.A. student. Still wins by getting All Might’s attention. Still wins by receiving Izuku’s respect and an agreement to maintain this rivalry that Bakugo is so obsessed with. Bakugo comes out well 99% of the time, he just thinks he's "lost" because he can't stand not being the absolute best.

For me, the story needed to have Bakugo face consequences for his behavior, not receive rewards and/or have others ignore it, and that revelation/apology needed to come way, way sooner. For me the issue is not a specific action that Horikoshi can have Bakugo do in the next chapter and them bam, I like him now. The problem is Bakugo’s entire concept, how he’s received by the entire cast, and his run across this entire series. "Entire" is the key word there. Which is why the “But he’s apologized. What more do you antis want?” reactions don’t sit well. What we wanted is a better written redemption arc across those 300+ chapters, not a single scene that’s meant to have us forget all the other problems inherent in the story. At this point it’s a far more complicated situation than, “Bakugo just needs to do X, Y, and Z and then we’re golden.” At the end of the day, Horikoshi failed to make me like him as a person and I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to change Bakugo enough to make him likable to me. Bakugo was never the sort of character I’d be inclined towards without a serious, nuanced redemption arc, but sadly, a core, crucial part of that redemption arc took six years to arrive. At this point there’s no way to change the problems in Bakugo’s writing for that huge chunk of the series and not enough time left in the series, it seems, to do the work we should have seen across the entire run. Honestly, idk if the Bakugo we'll get going forward is someone I can just dislike as opposed to being really uncomfortable with, but my money is on there being too little story left and too much investment in upholding Bakugo's base personality for that to happen. I could absolutely be proven wrong! But I think the problems are structural and needed to be better dealt with from page one, not hastily patched over in the final hour.

#BNHA #My Hero Academia #anti bakugo

117 notes · View notes

sepublic · 4 years

Text

Analyzing Ordinary

I notice how she looks at me

But I pretend that I don’t see

It’s easier if I let the tension subside

We’ve got Luz being willfully ignorant of Amity’s longing looks, no doubt because she doesn’t want to get her hopes up, as if Amity would be interested in someone like HER, because Luz still has her issues of self-loathing, of inadequacy… And combined with how much she thinks the world of her friends, she probably sees all of them as being too good for her! Not to mention letting the tension subside could allude to the idea of Luz letting Amity confront her feelings at her own pace, not to mention any reservations about falling in love because she doesn’t want Amity to reciprocate and get in trouble with her parents for it…

I’ve seen it in the books I read

A magic that you cannot see

There’s no limitations

They wear it with pride

But the characters I read never act or look like me

I can’t depend on them to lead me through the right door

Luz has read about it in The Good Witch Azura, not just the idea of being in love, but no doubt a brave and defiant love against what others have to say, and against one’s self-doubts! But Luz not only doesn’t think of herself as being as cool or confident as Azura… But she also knows from firsthand experience that she can’t project her book’s fantasies onto real life, that it’s gotten her into trouble in the past and almost jeopardized relationships!

Luz is afraid that maybe she’s just projecting her books onto her relationship with Amity, imagining romance where there isn’t, and is thus setting herself up for disappointment and possibly making Amity uncomfortable… And even if she SHOULD follow the books’ advice this one time, is Luz good enough to be like Azura, when she knows that in the end she isn’t? Not to mention ‘door’ could be a reference to the portal back home, and Luz feels like if she gets caught up in fantasy and/or following romance as the Azura books guide her to, she won’t ever go back to her ‘rightful place’ in the human world!

And what’s the point of falling when I know I’m only stalling

Cause I have to go back home

Where I’m just one in the herd

Tripping over my words

Trying hard to go with the grain

Keeping the quirks in my brain

There’s the obvious allusion of Luz being resigned to the idea of going back to the human world, because as of now she hasn’t yet aired the idea of simply… staying behind in the Boiling Isles, because she feels beholden to her mother Camila, about whether or not she’d approve, not wanting to reject Camila –especially if Camila makes Luz choose- etc. Not to mention, there’s a pretty obvious reference to Luz being neurodivergent, but at the same time…

I feel this could ALSO apply to ideas of classism, and the Blight Parents’ elitist attitudes! How Luz is probably telling herself that she isn’t good enough for someone of such higher social standing as Amity, someone who was born above her, has worked harder and has ‘proper’ magic… Luz knows her ‘real family’ is either with Camila, or with Eda and the others; It’s not amongst the upper echelons of the Boiling Isles hierarchy, where Amity lives. Luz doesn’t see herself as fitting in with Amity, and she doesn’t want to jeopardize Amity’s life by having the girl fall in love with a ‘commoner’ like her… Especially since Amity is so much more talented, right?

Plus, Amity is aiming to join the Emperor’s Coven, while Luz is actively defying Belos and even fought and wounded him! What if they end up on opposite sides of this conflict, with opposing ideals and beliefs…? Luz doesn’t believe in the Coven System, so why fall for someone who’s going to help enforce it? Those are Amity’s beliefs, not her own… Luz has to stick up for what she knows and believes in, especially after what she and her friends have been through! Not that Amity can be personally blamed for choosing the Emperor’s Coven, but at the same time…

I’m on the brink of discovery I think

But what if I’m dreaming

That’s what it seems like

There’s Luz, discovering her own self-worth, that she’s a lovable person… Discovering actual romantic love with someone she knows, discovering what Amity truly feels like deep down… But on the other hand, maybe she’s just projecting again, or being too wishful? Maybe it’s just like Adegast’s illusions.

Cause this girl thinks I’m part of her world

And that new territory’s scary

If I turn a handle

Am I asking for a scandal?

Should I try to be ordinary?

‘World’ could refer to the Boiling Isles, but it could also refer to Amity’s life in general and her social circles, etc. How Amity thinks Luz really is worth it and good enough for her, risking what her parents have to say! And sometimes Luz isn’t sure if she belongs in either the human world OR the Demon Realm… The idea of being in a romantic relationship is new and unusual to Luz, as is the idea of exploring a crush that could be reciprocated, but also rejected!

Luz is also worried of the ‘scandal’ that will be caused, not just for the potential rift and embarrassment that will ensue if she’s wrong, but again, because she doesn’t want Amity to get in trouble with her parents for falling in love with a ‘lowly human’, a sentiment Luz may secretly, at least partially, agree with. So, should Luz try to be ‘ordinary’, stick with her own ‘level’ of people? Stop trying to project and fantasize and be realistic about the situation?

Not to mention, Amity aims to be a part of the Emperor’s Coven Luz is so against… What if when trying to be with Amity and be good enough for her, Luz gets wrapped up in the Coven System, and falls for its propaganda and elitist ideals? She doesn’t like the Emperor’s Coven and doesn’t want to join it to be with Amity… Can Luz still love Amity while still being so distinctly her own, separate person from everything else that the Blight girl is and aims to be?

And of course, handle… The ‘handle’ to a door, perhaps the portal leading to the demon realm? If Luz continues to stay in the Demon Realm, is she just asking for trouble? If she heads back to the human world, does she end up crushing Amity’s heart? And perhaps the ‘door’ isn’t referring to the portal, but simply the door to Amity’s own world in the Blight Manor.

mmBAAAAAAAAH!

Classic Luz noise.

I’ve always been a little odd

The only pea inside the pod

That’s not an expression I’m guessin’

Oh well

We have Luz not fitting in, not just back home, but also in the Boiling Isles as a human who can’t perform magic the conventional way, as an outsider to the Coven System, AND Luz also not being of the ‘upper caste’ that the Blights belong to. Only pea, only human, only child, etc. Luz is making up words and expressions, she’s always had a unique way of expressing herself, and if the current ways don’t do a sufficient job of capturing herself, then Luz will MAKE her own method of properly expressing who she is! Just as she found a way to do Magic without bile!

See that’s exactly what I mean!

I’m just as awkward as I seem!

Plus she makes me nervous

I hope she can’t tell

Again, Luz’s self-loathing is coming back into play, she’s good at hiding her own insecurities at times, but in the end, while she’s learned and grown so much… Sometimes, the trauma of years of isolation still comes back to bite her. Not to mention, Luz remembering that she doesn’t fit in with Amity’s ‘people’, getting mad at herself for not living up to a certain standard imposed by either society or herself for her friends… Etc. Then we have Luz being nervous about all of the other stuff I’ve mentioned beforehand, and she doesn’t want Amity to notice, not just because having your feelings known is mortifying, but she also needs to be the girl’s ‘fearless champion’!

Not to mention the allusions to Adventures in the Elements and how Luz acted then… Luz is nervous about messing up when she really DOES want another friend, romantic or otherwise! To Luz, she’s already messed up and hurt Amity’s feelings before, and after Amity gave her another chance when she didn’t have to, Luz doesn’t want to appear weak or make Amity doubt in her decision… She wants to validate Amity’s trust by being worthy of her love! Like, she knows the girl already had self-doubt issues already. This is the closest thing she has to a fresh start since the Abomination Incident and Luz wants it to be GOOD.

What is it she sees in this cluster clump of me

Or could it maybe be I’m going crazy?

Once more we have Luz defaulting back to seeing herself as a freak and not being good enough for Amity, especially after all of the times Luz has blamed herself for hurting Amity’s feelings! She doesn’t want to hurt Amity, and that’s even assuming Amity is actually interested in her at all to begin with!

And hey who am I kidding?

This isn’t some sweet beginning

Just a detour to the end!

Once more, we have Luz remembering she needs to go back to the human world/her place in society. None of this is permanent, she has other places she ‘belongs’ to, and it’s certainly not by Amity’s side, even if Amity is always welcome around her… This as far as Luz’s relationship with Amity will go, especially given what the Blight Parents have to say!

[Repeat]

Do I rewind? Induce amnesia?

Pretend I didn’t see her?

Succumb to stupid fear?

We’ve got the obvious callback to Little Miss Perfect, which really ties up how Luz and Amity are two sides of the same coin, but are ALSO struggling with the same issues with coming forward, because they don’t see themselves as good enough for the other, wonder what the other sees in them, if they’re just delusional and/or projecting, not to mention their different places in society and how they’ll both go towards different directions… And it’s silly, these girls are afraid of the same thing and it just goes to show that they really need to believe in themselves more! But it’s also sad, because again, self-loathing. Then we have ‘stupid fear’, which could be a callback to Grometheus, with Luz not facing the challenge of being frank to Camila about where she truly feels at home, ergo she decides to instead just go along with what Camila says, rather than face her fears!

Or just believe in my heart?

Why play a part?

Why follow the herd?

Why not trust in my words?

Don’t wanna go with the grain!

Why try to make myself plain!

I’m on the brink of rediscovery I think!

So what if I’m dreaming?

I like the scene that I’m in!

Finally, we have Luz practicing self-love and belief in herself! Why bother playing a part, in either the human world or the Coven System (especially since she already attacked Belos)?! She’s defying her previous doubts about where she ‘really’ belongs, because Luz belongs with those she loves and vice-versa, and no social class will stand in the way of that! And if Luz can trust in her words to cheer up and inspire others, if they can trust in what Luz has to say… Maybe she can finally take her own advice to heart for herself?

So why bother? Why bother trying to stick to her place in society, why not stand out and reach a hand to where Amity is, not just to be with her, but to ALSO be a powerful Witch in her own right! Luz is rediscovering who she is, her placement in this world, her relationship back home and with her mother, her feelings towards Amity and vice-versa, magic in general… There’s so much more to do and explore, why go back on that now? She’s always been a curious soul!

And so what if Luz is dreaming? Even if one needs to be wary of confusing dreams with reality, it’s important to still have SOME fantasies, that sometimes it’s not about being realistic or being pragmatic, or doing the ‘useful’ thing, it’s about pursuing who you want to be and being happy with it! That’s what Eda taught her, and we see how unhappy Willow was when trying to be in the Abomination Track with its ‘more opportunities’.

Not to mention, this line could also be in defiance to how the Reality Check summer camp and others before have accused Luz of being delusional, of no doubt being too much in her head and hyper-fixations… But what’s wrong with that, really? What’s wrong with being neurodivergent, and passionate into one’s interests? Luz likes the Boiling Isles, she likes her friendship with Amity, she likes who she is and she doesn’t care what others have to say! If she can defy Belos, she can defy the Blight Parents!

And this girl is a part of this world

The thought of being normal’s far more scary

I’ll be brave and I’ll be kind

I’ll make a choice and change my mind

I will mess up all the time

They’ll say I’m weird but I’ll be fine

I’ll be anything but ordinary!

Once more, Luz sees Amity is not just a part of the Boiling Isles, but a part of the found family she feels happy and accepted in! After seeing what conformity has done to others, after witnessing what it was like back home, the idea of losing all that is too much for Luz! Luz will be brave, not just for others but for herself, she’ll be her OWN fearless champion!

She’ll make a decision and change her mind on herself as a lowly person who isn’t worth it, as someone who needs to go back to the human world… Plus, Amity’s ‘world’ could also be her place with the Blight Parents and the Emperor’s Coven, which Luz KNOWS is toxic for her, and she’s seen what it does to others- So if she’s so against the system for this, why not go in and try to save Amity from it as well?

Amity being brainwashed like your typical EC witch is far scarier than any pain of rejection that Luz may have; She needs to do this for Amity, too! Being in subservience to her parents and/or Belos is NOT something Amity deserves, and as her fearless champion, Luz will protect Amity!

And Luz knows she’ll make mistakes. She knows she’ll ‘mess up’ in the sense that she’s neurodivergent, that she won’t be doing things the proper way for either world she’s a part of… That things will be messy, that she’ll do the ‘impractical’ thing and go by her emotions, instead of just being ‘smart’ and keeping her head down, and not defying the natural order or whatever.

She’ll make mistakes, and that’s okay, Luz isn’t a terrible person just because she isn’t perfect, that yes she HAS hurt Amity in the past, but that doesn’t mean she can’t make a change, especially not when she’s already done so much for Amity otherwise, especially not when even someone like Lilith can begin making amends! Not to mention, mistakes are an outlet for learning… Luz is learning not to be overly-critical of herself, as she was no doubt taught by a school system that punished her neurodivergence.

Luz knows that she’ll never be ‘perfect’, that even if she does improve herself, she’ll still screw up here or there in her relationships and whatnot… But if she can be forgiving of the mistakes of others, why not her own? Especially when others feel the same! And others may say she’s weird, but you know what? Considering others’ ideas of what conformity means, maybe that’s a good thing!

And Luz has always known that her rightful place wasn’t with ‘the herd’, but with her own weird, outcast group of weirdoes! It’s who she really is, and being weird is Luz embracing herself and her identity! Quite frankly… She’ll be anything but ordinary, because whatever she is, whatever the potential she has, and there’s SO MUCH of it…

It’s definitely not going to be the person she used to be, or who others wanted to be! And even if Amity doesn’t reciprocate her romantic feelings, well. Luz still learned to defy a ‘natural order’ in the end, as she always will! She’ll still be friends with Amity. And she’ll still be someone who can believe in herself, so why not? Why NOT give it a try?

#the owl house #owl house #lumity #the owl house ordinary #the owl house luz #luz noceda #the owl house amity #amity blight #little miss perfect #joriah kwame

234 notes · View notes

syubub · 5 years

Text

BTS as husbands

Seokjin

9 cups, 8 of Pentacles,5 of Pentacles rev., 10 of Cups, 2 of Cups.

Seokjin is a rock. As a husband, this man is emotionally mature and is able to take a step back to overcome any issues that they have in the relationship. He’ll also want to brag about his spouse too. He’s definitely a romantic but the quirky kind of romantic. He works hard to provide for his spouse will do what he can to make sure that everything is taken care of.

I definitely see him wanting to be super domestic with his spouse, cooking together and such. Definitely a soft, low key kind of husband who wants to dance comically in the kitchen in only underwear.

Honestly, whatever cute domestic scenario you have in your head is probably just about right. This man loves his spouse so much and they’ve probably acted like an old married couple from the second they saw each other.

Yoongi

The Lovers, The Sun, Justice, 2 of Pentacles, Hanged Man

Soft boy strikes again. Yoongi as a husband would be so sweet. He would do literally anything for his spouse. This man is big on equality within a relationship. I see him sharing everything with his spouse. I can legit hear "what’s mine is yours". This man is amazing at adulting. He probably handles finances in the relationship, not because he doesn’t think his spouse is capable but rather because he knows that most people find it annoying and he really doesn’t mind doing it if it takes stress away from his spouse.

Yoongi is a responsible husband. If something needs to be fixed, Yoongi has probably fixed by the time it has been brought to his attention.

Honestly Yoongi is a romantic man and would thrive off of little romantic gestures. If his spouse woke him up with coffee in bed he’d be in heaven. Just as he would be attentive to every little need I think his spouse will find that he secretly loves it when they do the same for him.

Good at problem solving and finding a new perspective. Not quick to anger and pretty chill for the most part.

Yoongi would absolutely light up whenever he is around his spouse and it wouldn’t matter how long they’ve been married for because he still feels like he’s in awe.

Tbh lots of arguing over furniture?

And interior design. He’s picky but only because he wants the best for his spouse.

Might get a little carried away in trying to rationalize every little thing and might have trouble letting some things go.

This popped in my head, like an argument for black vs white sheets. Like Yoongi wants black sheets because they look cool but it’s easier to tell if the white ones are dirty? And Yoongi has a whole mental list of pros and cons for black vs white sheets and his spouse is just like, "get the damn sheets, dude" and he’s like, "but what if," and his spouse gives him The Look and so he puts them both in the shopping cart.

He almost gets butterflies in his stomach whenever his spouse comes up. It’s cute.

At the same time though, people looking in from the outside might be like,???

"Are you even married?" Because they act so casual about it. But let me assure you this man is an affectionate man in his own way,

He likes skinship but on his terms (like a cat). I can definitely see him being the type to just always have a subtle touch on his spouse. Nothing possessive at all though. More like he finds such comfort in his spouse that he feels safe and comfortable with them around

Also definitely a little spoon. Fight me.

Hoseok

3 of Swords, 9 of Pentacles, hierophant, 5 of Cups

Hobi, my dude. I think he might be a little scared of commitment. Besides being a little wary of commitment though, I feel like he would be a very stable life partner/ husband. I can see him fretting over what to do because he doesn’t want to mess up and he might be the type not forgive himself for buying the wrong pasta. Honestly he is a wholesome spouse who maybe has issues with what he’s seen of marriage.

"Can’t get divorced if you don’t get married"

Thanks hope.

I think that he genuinely would be a sweet, caring, kind and strong husband who will thrive with the right person who knows how to ease his fears.

Hope strikes me as the type to not really put his emotions at the forefront. Like obvi he cares deeply for his spouse but when it comes to things that he struggles with it might take some coaxing to get it out of him.

Over all Hobi would be a great husband to anyone who put in the time and effort to reassure him.

Namjoon

Queen of wands rev., The Star, 2 of Pentacles, 4 of Pentacles, Magician

This man is easily overwhelmed. He might feel out of his depth as a husband, afraid that he’s doing something wrong? As far as husband material, Joon would be very bold? Like, Joon would treat his spouse like royalty and provide for them in a monetary sense but he would also have the potential to be kind of overly cautious with money sometimes because he fears that his spouse thinks that he’s trying to buy their affection. He would get anything and everything his spouse desired because he’s just that kind of guy. He would be the type of husband that takes his spouse out for fancy dates just because it’s a Wednesday. Like also expect this man to buy his spouse a Gucci outfit and leave it on the bed with a cute little note and a time for their dinner reservation. Ugh.

Expect him and his spouse to have a cute little book club too. Joonie is a romantic intellectual but also just a silly guy and he is probably the most easy going and dependable husband. Him with his spouse is something so powerful.

#powercouple

Jimin

Queen of Wands rev., Ace of Cups, hierophant, 7 of cups rev.

Jimin is a thoughtful libra husband. He will be constantly giving gifts and touching up on his spouse. I do see him being insecure. He seems to be a rather insecure person and when it comes to being legally, emotionally or some sort of weighty bond, tied to someone is nerve wracking. But Jimin is such a sweet heart.

He definitely buys lots of flowers and little gifts for his spouse.

"I saw this and thought of you.”

That’s something he does a lot.

It might be a rock he found in a parking lot or earrings that cost more that one years rent.

He really values open communication. He wants to know that something is wrong so that he can fix it before it turns into something it doesn’t have to be.

Will gush to everyone he knows about how cool his spouse is.

Taehyung

3 of Cups, 2 of Wands, King of Wands rev., 5 of Cups,

Taehyung will want to host parties with his spouse. I also see him wanting a pool?

Anyway, Tae is a very down to earth literal angel of a husband. He really is like the ultimate family guy. He is a very patient husband who is grounded and silly af. He knows how to make everyone laugh.

He is the perfect mix of child like and adult. Hes not afraid to tap into his childish side and bake a cake at 3 am with his spouse because it seemed like fun. He takes every possible moment he can to cherish his spouse.

I really think that Tae has a good grasp on how fragile life is and wants to make sure that his spouse knows how lived they are.

I see Tae really liking classy PDA

Jungkook

5 of Pentacles rev., heirophant, chariot, knight of wands

So so so cute. Think of a golden retriever. He wants to go everywhere and see everything and experience new things with his spouse. He has an actual heart of gold and will probably show up to his house with like 5 dogs he found on the street. I can see JK wanting to sponsor kids. This has nothing to do with possibly wanting kids of his own but I see him wanting to help out kids and wanting his spouse to be a part of it.

Such a dork.

Definitely has a collection of board games with home made pieces because he lost the real ones.

Will keep such a clean house.

A little irresponsible possibly? Not a bad thing but he just has such a youthful sort of outlook about some things.

Jungkook would be that steady pillar in the relationship. I keep getting ‘father figure’. I think I know what that is supposed to mean but the context is weird.

Jk is a dependable husband that holds no harsh judgment for his spouse. He is a pillar of strength and vulnerability and will do whatever he can to make sure that those around him are taken care of.

Think marrying your best friend. He knows every detail about his spouse and holds each little detail in high regard.

I also see him enjoying camping with his spouse. Like full on backpacking in the wilderness.

Values time spent together being productive, ie; grocery shopping, doing work at the table, working out etc.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

I thought it would be cute to do a separate reading on what their weddings might look like just because I’m sappy..

#bts #bts imagines #bts jhope #bts jimin #bts reactions #bts tarot #bts rm #hoseok #jungkook #namjoon #min yoongi #yoongi #kim seokjin #seokjin #jk #taehyung #bts v #bts suga #min suga #hobi

533 notes · View notes

act-addict-actors-matchups · 4 years

Text

@ne-nene-ne said,

[1/2] Hi~ May I pls have a matchup? I'm a ♏, ISFP, 5'0 fem w/ medium length dark hair & eyes. I like wearing sweaters/sweatpants a lot! I love to draw & sing especially! I'd sing softly to my s/o if we're close & alone together. I often take endless pics of the sunset bc it's so pretty! Tbh I'm a loner. I'm shy, quiet, awkward and I like my alone time. I'm friendly and good-willing towards others nonetheless! I've been told I have a positive aura. I'm more chill, silly & playful w/ family!

[2/2] I can joke around w/ them! I have a short temper but I forgive just as quickly. I can be hard on myself bc I feel it's necessary to improve. I'm an appreciative person so I'll say "thank you" like 1000 times lol! I highly value family & honesty! My ideal s/o is someone family-oriented, devoted, and genuine. Bonus points if they're funny too! I'd like someone who I can slowdance to soft, jazz music w/. My love language is Acts of Service! Tysm! Take your time, stay healthy & stay safe! ❤

✧ Thank you so much for requesting a matchup love. Tumblr is not letting me tag you so hopefully you’ll see this. 😔 I wish you well during this challenging time. Hope you keep safe as well! 😷

I’d match you with: . . .

➜ HOW YOU TWO FIRST MET ; Juza Hyodo is that typical cold guy in school that everyone is lowkey scared of. That’s how he seems from outside anyway. You were asked by your biology teacher to borrow the books for the class’s current lesson from the library on the spot so you took a beeline for the shelves as fast as you could. But for god’s sake all the books were placed at the topmost part of the science shelves. You stood there for a good minute while glaring at the books overhead. You knew you were damned for good since there were no chairs nearby that were available and the librarian was nowhere to be seen. You stomped you feet in annoyance until you felt a looming presence behind you. A tall one. When you turned around, you saw Juza grabbing the books at ease and handing it to you. You thanked him quietly which surprised him because you actually didn’t quiver with fear or panic in his presence??? and you genuinely thanked him?? It was not usual for him to hear someone express their gratitude towards him. Even the cashiers from sweet shops he’d like to visit secretly we’re scared of him for heaven’s sake. After murmuring a little “‘S nothing.” he walked away. And that was the end of it. Or so you thought. The second time you met the purple haired boy was in a cafe. You were patiently waiting in the line for this so called Peanut Butter Pound Cake S'mores. According to your friends, it was one of the best desserts the cafe ever had. To test that theory, you decided to check the dessert yourself. Everything was perfectly normal until a young teenage boy of average height with fluffy pink hair and light blue eyes bumped into you, spilling a little of his drink on you. Yes, I’m talking about Muku. Baby boy was so scared and flustered, he apologized to you multiple times like crazy. Luckily it wasn’t anything hot so you didn’t burn yourself. Giving the boy a soft smile, you said it was fine and he shouldn’t worry about it. But he is a kind-hearted and modest boy with the motto "doing one good deed each day" so of course he offered you to give some of the Chocolate-Caramel Sandwich Cookies he had ordered before to apologize properly. Normally you would’ve reject the offer but with the way he was looking at you, you couldn’t find the heart to do so. While waiting for your order together, you learned what the boy’s name was and that he came here with his cousin. When you heard that the first image that popped into your mind was a soft looking person just like him you. After you got your order, the two of you made your way towards their table. And with that, your previous thought was thrown out of the window just like that. There he was, one and only Juza Hyodo, the person who helped you in the library, was sitting in a chair, quietly munching on one of the many sweets in front of him. When Muku announced that he was back, his eyes shot up to him and then shifted towards you. Yeah, it was awkward. Nevertheless, you tried to offer the tall boy a smile, which he just nodded his head, cheeks tilted pink to get his sweet tooth exposed to someone from school. After you sat down, Muku began to explain how he accidentally bumped into you and spilled some of his drink on you. Juza got the picture and said nothing. Though, gradually he started to become more comfortable. Before you knew it, you befriend the young teenage boy with fluffy hair. You told Muku how you two first met, which he only exclaimed how cool his cousin was and how the scene was just like from a shoujo manga. So yeah, your friendship with Juza started that day and slowly but steadily developed into something more. You would see him at school and chat with him, give him snacks to eat together on the rooftop etc.

➜ PERSONALITY COMPATIBILITY ; Let me just start of by saying that you two are really similar in terms of personality. A loner who is shy, quiet, awkward, likes alone time yet still friendly and good-willing towards others? Yeah, you get to point. When you're dating someone who has almost identical personality traits as you, reading them becomes easier. Juza is honest and critical of himself but is more than willing to work hard on it to improve himself and so are you. You two motive each other become better versions of yourselves, constantly pushing forward hand in hand ad I think that’s a beautiful thing in a relationship. You two have the same values. He deeply values his comrades and family so he would love it whenever he saw you getting along with Muku or Kumon. He’s very protective of those he holds dear, so watching you interact with them and care for them as if they were your own family would make him fall for you even more. The same goes for him as well. He’ d try his utmost best to get along with your family. Physical affection is OUT the window in the first start of your guys' relationship though. And when you guys DO start attempting physical contact, he'd be so stiff. Baby boy really hasn’t had a lot of experience in regards to how to treat others with affection outside of his family. 🥺 but deep down, Juza has a soft side. He’s a bit shy with showing his affections, but he tries his utmost best to convey his love to you― one of them being if you ever needed him support with ANYTHING honestly, he’ll always make it known to you that you have his full support and that he’s always right beside you through everything.

➜ SHARED ACTIVITIES ; With an delinquent-like appearance that often gives people a "scary" impression of him, I feel like Juza would rather spend time inside rather than outside. For those with a serious sweet tooth, baking, especially with a lover has a double benefit: It engages the two of you in an activity you probably don't do often, and you get to enjoy something delicious afterward. You two make an especially decadent dessert when you're feeling ambitious, or simply break out a boxed mix if you're short on time — or baking skills. At first times, there is a lot of trial and error and you guys end up getting covered in flour and such, a cheeky smile present on your face. These are usually the times where you get to hear Juza’s rare laughs as he joined in your joy. Feeling too lazy to bake something? Have a candy tasting. Satisfying your sweet tooth is a foolproof way to survive. Stock up on different colors of Starbursts, Gummi Bears or Worms, Sour Straws, Hi-Chews, and whatever else you are craving— and then eat your way through the rainbow together. Bonus points if you’re lounging off your sugar coma with a movie on the couch afterwards, he doesn’t particularly mind what kind so it’s totally up to you which genre you want to watch. This one is technically not a date but sometimes you, Juza, Muku and Kumon play board games. Depending on how competitive you are, this idea can be a little dangerous. (looking at you monopoly.) But it’s always a blast to spend time with people you love and cherish.

➜ ZODIAC COMPATIBILITY ; Juza’s birthday is on September 27, which makes him a Libra. When Libra and Scorpio come together in a love match, they tend to make a very emotionally connected and mutually satisfying union. Though Scorpio is a brooder who can get lost in the confusing welter of their own emotions, Libra’s proclivity for balance and harmony helps keep Scorpio even. Scorpio can return the favor to Libra with their characteristic powers of focus, a trait that Libra usually lacks. These two are very compatible due to their similar needs in a love relationship: Libra is the Sign of Partnership, and Libra is happiest when in a well-balanced and intimate relationship, while Scorpio thrives on emotional and sexual intimacy with their mate. These two Signs can make a very loyal, close and satisfying partnership. What’s the best aspect of the Libra-Scorpio relationship? The power they find in unity. They can accomplish a lot, whether they come together for a cause in the business or romantic sphere. They are both winners and they won’t give up, making theirs a relationship that takes care of business.

#act! addict! actors!#a3! matchup #juza hyodo

8 notes · View notes

dillydedalus · 5 years

Text

february reading

truly the month of the 2.5 to 3/5 star books

the testaments, margaret atwood y’all.... i was bracing myself for disappointment but yikes. the first half is semi-decent, with at least the storylines of aunt lydia’s (alleged) diaries and the testimony of a girl raised in gilead opening up some interesting themes (the third, from the pov of a canadian teen, is a fucking disaster from the beginning), but the second half genuinely reads like generic dystopian YA, it’s predictable & tropey & silly & the prose becomes bad, real bad, ‘is atwood okay’ bad. 1.5/5

paul takes the form of a mortal girl, andrea lawlor really cool & propulsive picaresque about paul polydoris, a queer student in the early 90s who can shapeshift (yeah) & explores what that means for his identity, learning to reject attempts to force him into binary categories. it’s a fun read, but it felt a bit directionless (picaresque i know), and like... i read a lot of this on my commute & there really is nothing like sitting on the train, in a half-awake daze, and your book throwing a fisting scene at you. 3/5

delusions of gender: the real science behind sex differences, cordelia fine nonfiction book dedicated to debunking claims about the neurological basis of sex differences. it’s from 2010 so prob a lil dated (scientifically i assume, as well as a relative lack of intersectional analysis), but it’s a good overview of why such claims are often based on flawed or misleading studies (like one on toy preference where monkeys where presented w/ gendered toys, such as the clearly female-coded pan, which like... it’s a monkey...). the section on supposedly gender-neutral childraising was particularly interesting & depressing. 3/5

silence, shusaku endo (tr. from japanese by william johnston) historical novel about the oppression & persecution of christians in 17th century japan - the protagonist, a young priest, secretly travels to japan to find his mentor & ends up betrayed & captured, under threat of torture, struggling with his own doubts about his faith. it’s interesting but preeetty damn slow. also tbh i can’t really relate to the struggle of whether or not you should step on an image of jesus to save yourself or others from torture/execution. (to be fair depending on your reading god does break his silence to be like ‘dude. just step on the fucking image.’) 2.5/5

the garden of the finzi-contini, giorgio bassani (tr. from italian by william weaver) a melancholy novel in which a jewish-italian narrator looks back at his youth & early adulthood thru the lense of his relationship to the finzi-contini, a very rich jewish family whose daughter, micòl, he was in love with. although the narrative is slow and leisurely, the growing antisemitism and the narrator’s retrospective knowledge of what is to come makes this quite haunting & unsettling. what’s also unsettling is the narrator’s campaign of sexual harrassment against micòl in the end of the book, which is painted as silly, lovesick weakness, rather than, you know, harrassment. 2.5/5 why are men like this

white is for witching, helen oyeyemi i love an evil house, i love an evil house that gets to narrate (!!!), i love (conceptually!!!) an evil xenophobic white supremacist parasitic house that loves & starves its daughters. conceptually & thematically oyeyemi sets up a lot of really cool shit about haunting & grief & race/whiteness & yanno, evil parasitic houses that eat you from the inside, but i don’t think the resolution of these themes really works & a lot of the build-up just kinda deflates (the brother especially is kinda pointless). idk. i want to read more from oyeyemi tho. 2.5/5

vater unser, angela lehner (no english translation yet) the blurb for this is big cringe (’you’ve never seen a crazy person like this!’ like bitch i have to see myself every damn day) & the bones of this are not super original (mentally ill compulsive-liar narrator gets herself committed, manipulates everyone around her) but it’s pretty well-executed with a strong & funny voice, lots of austrian-specific weirdness, & a nice zippy pace. the twist is a bit predictable but still well-done imo. 2.5/5

interior chinatown, charles yu really smart experimental novel(ish) about one willis wu, struggling actor, trying to work his way up from Generic Asian Man to Kung Fu Guy in a strange shadow-world-version of chinatown where everyone is an actor & everything is part of the set. this strange half-world & the fact that much of the novel is in script-form are both really clever & also work really well in setting up the novel’s deeper point (i.e. not just that the film industry sucks if you’re any kind of minority, but that the stereotypical roles one is assigned in a culture have deeper repercussions in terms of identity and self-perception). it’s also a really funny books, and the epigraphs for each chapter are *chef’s kiss*. 3.5/5

die erfindung der deutschen grammatik, rasha abbas (tr. from arabic by sandra hetzl, no english translation) funny little collection of very short stories by a young syrian journalist & author who moved to berlin in 2014. the stories are for me most part about her experiences as a refugee, learning german, dealing with german bureaucracy & so on, often with a slightly surreal twist. fun but not super substantial or anything. 2.5/5

northanger abbey, jane austen tbh henry tilney is a condescending ass & the whole thing about him only falling in love with catherine bc she is so in love with him is a big yikes from me but it is so charming & funny (the thorpes! the narrator!) & catherine is so sweet, so ready to suspect gothic misdeeds & so naive when it comes to the much more commonplace cruelties that like, i still love it. 3.5/5

a thread of grace, mary doria russell historical novel about the nazi occupation of northern italy from ‘43 onwards, told thru various perspectives of partisans & resistance members, italian jews and jewish refugees in hiding, and catholic clergy involved with the resistance efforts. given that topic, it’s often brutal and depressing but there is always that (title drop) thread of grace in seeing the heroism of the partisans and the people who aided them & hid thousands of jewish refugees from the nazis. and russell just always brings so much humanity to her characters. not as good as the sparrow, but man, russell is great. 3.5/5

eure heimat ist unser albtraum, ed. fatma aydemir & hengameh yaghoobifarah & many many others (german, no translation yet) 2019 anthology about racism in germany, what it means to be a minority in germany, and why ‘heimat’ (~home(land)) is a problematic concept. as it is w/ anthologies it’s a mixed bag & i will say that i don’t think it’s as radical as it presents as overall but i think the #discourse in germany just ain’t as advanced as it is in the us&uk. 3/5

currently reading: gideon the ninth (i have no idea what’s going on but it’s very stylish)

#the books i read #tbh except for testaments i didn't dislike anything but very few of these books really stood out #to the point that i completely forgot to publish this #long post

2 notes · View notes

thebibliomancer · 7 years

Text

Essential Avengers: Avengers #170: “... Though Hell Should Bar The Way!”

April, 1978

Oh, hey, Jocasta is back! Good ol’ unfortunately named Jocasta!

And this is a very good DC Silver Age-esque comic cover. Heroes acting inexplicably only to be sort of explained kinda on the inside. I can’t wait to see how this scenario does not even come about.

Remember the cover where Mantis was protecting Libra from the rest of the Avengers but inside she tried to beat him up for pulling a Vader on her?

Also, “The Return of the Bride of Ultron” is a very Hammer Horror-esque title. Drop the definite article and its basically one.

But enough admiring the cover. Lets get into it.

Last time: Back in issues 161-162, Ultron gave Hank Pym amnesia as part of a weird plan to trick him into turning the Wasp into a robot for Ultron to marry. It was foiled when the robot wife summoned the Avengers with ants and Iron Man threatened to destroy her, forcing Ultron to back off.

But also recently, there’s some unrest in the house of avenge. A series of overpowered foes have been battering the Avengers esteem and as a result one stalwart chums are at each other’s throats. Cap blamed Iron Man for his absentee leadership but then Scarlet Witch went OFF on Cap’s own performance recently.

The Avengers consist mostly of hurt feelings and bruised egos at this point, basically.

So we start with Cap taking his frustration to the gym.

Beast also tries to cheer him up, in his own inimitable way.

Problem: I don’t think Cap has ever been a fan of Beast’s sense of humor. There’s been several instances since Beast has joined the team where Cap has told him to stop clowning.

And he once again does so here.

So Beast tries a different strategy. He offers to tell him about some sexual escapades.

Because in the past, Cap seemed into it. It’s the closest they’ve come to bonding as teammates.

But Cap is in a Mood so he fakes a fall to freak out Beast before catching himself on the uneven bars.

Not cool, Cap.

He then angrily pumps some iron.

Because as someone pointed out to him, he’s been useless lately. And he doesn’t have superpowers unlike some people he could mention so he’s got to keep his few skills sharp.

Beast: “You know, Cap, you’re a lot like Witchy in a way -- you both take everything way too seriously! Now, me, I never take --”

Cap: “Get lost, Beast!”

Rude.

And then Iron Man shows up which just gets Cap more tightly wound.

Iron Man just wants to have a word with Cap in private.

So Beast, in his own display of pettiness, effortlessly picks up the 500 pound weight that Cap was working out with to put it away.

Savage.

Anyway, as soon as Beast is gone, Iron Man tries to start the word in private with Cap but Cap claims to be busy and passive-aggressively starts working out with the mobile stunblaster while Iron Man is trying to talk.

The mobile stunblaster is, of course, a work out machine that follows you around and tries to shoot you with punch beams while you have to block it with special gloves.

I expect that all gyms have one. Its basic workout equipment.

Cap isn’t really receptive but Iron Man manages to get out what he wanted to say.

Iron Man: “Look, Cap, what I came to say --”

Cap: “Let me guess, Tin Man -- you want to tell me I was way off base criticizing your leadership -- since I haven’t been earning my keep lately!”

Iron Man: “No. I came to apologize for myself and for Wanda! None of us have been setting the world on fire lately! She had no right to judge you!”

Cap: “It doesn’t matter! I’ve judged myself... and in my own eyes, I’ve fallen short! Maybe I’ve been lax lately --! It won’t happen again, Tin Man! Never again!”

Iron Man: “Fine! I want you to know Cap... I feel the same way about the job I’ve done as chairman! I’ve made some bad decisions... let other matters occupy time I owed the Avengers... and when I was around, I tried to do it all myself! I guess I felt guilty... and I kept trying to prove my worth! Just wanted you to know -- I’m aware of my failings! I -- I’ll try harder, Cap... or, if you think I should, I’ll step down! You can take over!”

Cap: “Wait! Iron Man, I guess my problem is that I’ve seen too many friends die in battle -- and when it seemed as if your job with Stark outweighed your Avengers’ duties -- as if you were taking your responsibilities lightly --!”

Iron Man: “I wasn’t! But... about Stark. Cap -- I should have told you long ago that --”

Cap: “No... keep your secrets, Iron Man! You lead... I’ll follow -- that’s enough!”

MmmMMMM. That is some good open and honest communication.

I love it. The me who first read this a couple years back was a fool to come off this run with the impression that it was just the Avengers getting their asses kicked and yelling at each other.

Its the Avengers getting their asses kicked, yelling at each other, and then having productive, emotionally honest conversations. It is my JAM.

Canonically, the first Civil War wouldn’t even have happened if Cap and Iron Man had set their feelings out like this.

I like that Cap passive-aggressively working out during this conversation keeps it from being talking heads because we get a bunch of unnecessary ACTION POSES as Cap works out.

But while Cap and Iron Man SOCIAL LINK GO or perhaps SUPPORT CONVERSATION depending on where your interests lie, out in the living room some other Avengers have less dramatic bonding.

Vision and Wonder Man play a game of chess together, Jarvis and Scarlet Witch admiring what good friends they’ve become off-screen. Much improved from existential angst causing Vision to try to punch him a lot and then they have to fight a gravity jerk.

They do, after all, have a lot in common. Like a brain.

But they get a phone call from Hawkeye who reveals that Two-Gun Kid has vanished. Disappeared even!

He tells Scarlet Witch not to bother coming. There’s nothing to find at the scene of the crime. So he’ll come to them.

Meanwhile, in Attilan, the Inhuman city in the Himalayas, Quicksilver is moody. But that’s nothing new, he was like that before.

He’s sitting on a balcony gazing beyond the city.

His wife Crystal asks if Attilan confines his spirit, having to stay in a secret city after all the glory and daring of being an Avenger. The battles, the thrills, the running full speed into a wall and breaking every bit of your skeleton bone.

But just as Quicksilver is saying he would never leave her, he vanishes mid-reassurance.

No, he didn’t run away in the most supremely dickish way ever. Like Two-Gun, he’s been disappeared.

What is going on here?

A story for later.

But for meanwhile we’re back to the Avengers Mansion where the Wasp shows off her new costume.

I don’t know what to say about it. Its not the worst she’s had. You don’t see as many superhero costumes that are orange and yellow. And Jan knows that branding is important because she put W for Wasp all over herself. Her gloves are cut to suggest Ws as are her boots. She’s got cleavage W and an abdomen W too.

Yellowjacket actually warns Wonder Man that if Wasp notices him in civvies, she’ll get him in a new costume so fast!

Wonder Man defers. He’s decided he’s not the costume type.

The thing about the Wasp is even if she makes a costume for someone else, she often makes it to appeal to her own tastes. Like when she made a costume for Angelica Jones, Firestar, with a pluuuuuuuuunging neckline. To Firestar’s lament.

So what I’m saying is that if Wonder Man let Wasp dress him, he’d definitely end up in thigh boots and with W’s all over his clothes.

Although, Wonder Man does become an actor later on who plays oiled up big muscles tiny shorts roles. So he’d probably rock it.

And then some colorful comic relief blue collar characters show up.

Wasp put her foot down and told Hank that she would not live with a Real Doll version of herself in the house so Hank hired Meyer and Mack to move her into his lab in the mansion.

Meyer is a real ‘seen it all’ type. Nothing impresses him. Avengers? Pssh. He moved Neil Sendaka’s ‘pianer’ once. Yellowjacket starts monologuing “[Jocasta] was conceived in evil, and yet while Ultron was transfering Jan’s life into her metal body, she unselfishly gave up her own existence by summoning us in time to stop the process and save Jan!” and Meyer all but taps his watch and reminds Yellowjacket that he’s on a flat rate.

Now Mack on the other hand? Mack is sure impressed.

And possibly discovering he has a new fetish.

Elsewhere in Saugerties, New York, the Guardians of the Galaxy secretly watch over a young Vance Astrovik. They’re sure that any day now evil cyborg from the future Korvac is going to try to knock off Vance to prevent the Guardians of the Galaxy from ever forming.

That is, if young Vance doesn’t manage to get himself killed first.

Since he’s playing baseball in the middle of a dark street and if Charlie-27 hadn’t been there, a truck would have run him over.

How he survived in the original timeline without future people being his guardian angels is a bit of a mystery.

Charlie-27: “It’s a wonder anyone reaches maturity in this idiotic backward era!”

An era where people toss spheroids in the middle of the road and where strange pieces of paper can be exchanged for food items. What strange customs.

The takeaway here is that, yes, the Guardians are busy guardianing Vance Astrovik and even though Korvac actually has bigger fish to fry and their vigil over Vance is misguided, its not pointless.

But meanwhile, back at the plot, Meyer and Mack finish carting the Jocasta crate into Hank Pym’s lab.

And just as Mack is marveling at how ‘real’ Jocasta looks (presumably for someone made entirely of metal with silly metal hair tentacles and also robot eyelashes) the robot girl awakens and OH YEAHS through the crate.

Jocasta: “He has awakened me! He calls! I must go to him! Let nothing stop me!”

Meyer and Mack flee the lab and run into an unhappy Yellowjacket who heard the crash of the OH YEAH and assumes that they fucked something up.

Which is probably not the case.

After escorting the movers out, the Avengers (Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Yellowjacket, and Wasp) run towards the lab.

But listening to the voice in her head, Jocasta finds the button that locks down the lab and then obviously locks down the lab.

Yellowjacket and Wasp managed to slip through the door before it closed. Doors never really bothered Vision anyway. But that leaves Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch locked out.

And the door is really tough! Its made of a special alloy almost as impenetrable as adamantium. Although the fact that it doesn’t get a name here sort of implies its going to be back to the drawing board.

But either way, the whole lab has been reinforced with it. For security reasons.

Scarlet Witch is sure that if she concentrates her probability altering powers, she can get the door to crumble but in the meantime, Wonder Man is going to keep punching like it personally insulted him.

Inside the lab, the three Avengers discover Jocasta up and about and creepy. She talks with Jan’s voice except cold and metallic. (Its never discussed whether Vision sounds like Wonder Man but since his body was the Human Torch’s I think probably not).

Vision isn’t creeped out. Somehow Ultron activated the Jocasta robot from afar and makes her speak like Jan hoping the Avengers will hesitate. But Vision won’t.

Drama is passed down in the family and as Ultron loves breaking Hank Pym’s things, so too will Vision break Ultron’s.

Except apparently Ultron planned for this. When he does the thing he always does and tries to intangible inside the robot to disrupt her circuits, he discovers an anti-matter booby trap.

It fills him with deadly energies and also copious amounts of pain.

Meanwhile, Beast has arrived at the door. He’s been looking for Thor but Thorry no Thor to be found.

That’s not one of his jokes. I just couldn’t resist.

Scarlet Witch is finally ready to do the thing she do and make probability weep but apparently the door has personally insulted Wonder Man by now. He proclaims a grudge match and finally punches it down.

Maybe its because it didn’t initially fall when he reminded everyone that his punches are approximately on the level of Thor’s hammer.

He says that a lot. That and the fact that he was created to fight the whole original Avengers roster.

I think its to remind the audience what Wonder Man’s deal is. But it also fits in with him being insecure, especially since nearly every time he talks about his fists being on the level of Mjolnir, the fight goes bad for him.

Inside the lab, Wonder Man, Beast, and Scarlet Witch find the Vision who tells them not to touch him because of the deadly energies. But that they need to pursue Jocasta.

Who has left the lab and is in the courtyard.

...

So all that effort to punch down the really expensive door was for naught? Did they really have no one guarding the other exit from that room?

Geez.

In the courtyard, Wasp and Yellowjacket fail to do anything to prevent Jocasta from strolling away, punching random plants.

Wasp: “Hank, I’m afraid Ultron’s strategy is working. I can’t bring myself to hurt her! It’d be like hurting myself!”

Yellowjacket: “I -- I know what you mean!”

Lets ignore, for once, the obvious and terrible irony involving future events. Lets go right in and focus on Jan not being able to hurt anything bearing an image of her.

Her one weakness. She just loves what she sees in the mirror too much to ever raise a hand to it.

The two heroes try to use their respective ranged attacks at low power to drive Jocasta back into the mansion but then Yellowjacket makes the mistake these two heroes always make and flies in too close.

She nabs him out of thin air and starts squeeeezing

Then Beast do what Beast do. DYNAMIC ENTRANCE, BOOT TO THE HEAD!

Then because Yellowjacket distracts Beast asking him not to smash Jocasta if he can help it, Jocasta shoots him in the face with eye lasers.

Because, of course, Ultron built her with eye lasers.

The family that slays together, right?

Wonder Man goes to punch her to scrap but she has a force field. Of course she does.

And even though he could punch through it eventually, in the here and now she shoots him in the face with eye lasers.

Scarlet Witch uses her power over nature (I guess she does just have both skillsets interchangably. Neat) to wrap Jocasta up in a tree in much the way a tree does not and cannot do.

Jocasta just flexes her way free. Because she has robot super strength.

Ultron, your wife is too powerful. You’re shaming the rest of us with your unstoppable killing machine wife.

The Avengers regroup and think about this. Maybe if they use teamwork and work as a team, assemble if you will, maybe if they strike as one they can overcome this robot lady.

Before they can, Iron Man comes in blasting.

Not at her, at them.

Iron Man: “Leave her alone! The first Avenger who harms her answers to me!”

And then Thor appears out of nowhere, calling it a long-delayed return (weird time stuff is still going on with him). Instantly deduces a battle is happening and decides that it would be a really cool way to enter the battle if he smashes this mysterious robot woman with his hammer.

I’m not saying that Thor always goes for the move that will fit best on an album cover but I’m sure that it runs through his mind sometimes.

Captain America is confused that Thor doesn’t recognize Jocasta since he was there when they stopped Ultron from putting Jan’s soul in her. And he’s not sure where he’s flying in from since he was just in the mansion minutes ago.

BUT HE HAS TO SAVE ROBOT GIRL!

And he throws his mighty shield and even Mjolnir must yield.

Also, after their little talk, Iron Man and Cap are back in the whole friendly pal/chum kind of thing. Like. Almost exaggeratedly so. Like Cap is making a real effort.

-Iron Man catches Cap after he jumps off the roof to throw his mighty shield-

Cap: “Thanks, Iron Man!”

Iron Man: “Good work, Cap! Took a heck of a chance, though!”

Cap: “Not really. I figured someone would catch me! After all, teamwork’s the name of the game!”

It practically screams I’M GOING TO BE POSITIVE!!

The other Avengers criticize Iron Man and Cap for letting Jocasta go. Which she does by literally walking through the wall. Geez. Ultron your wife is so strong.

Anyway. Iron Man explains the obvious thing. His armor sensors have locked on to Jocasta’s electrical patterns. Obviously they’re going to follow her and she’s going to lead them to Ultron!

Hot damn! Avengers being proactive! Kinda! I mean, Jocasta waking up was on Ultron but instead of just letting the killer robot lurk around somewhere and make a new plan to be murdery and oedipal, Iron Man is going to do something about it!

Unless this is a trap!

But that’s just the hazards of the job.

Also, I guess the cover was more or less accurate. The exact scene didn’t exactly happen but the spirit of it basically. Although Iron Man never blasted Wonder Man. In fact, he apologized that he had to blast near him to stop him.

So this is my second read through this run on Avengers. So like the brown bear I know ALL. But the first time around, I’m pretty sure I didn’t see Jocasta coming back.

I mean, it was only eight issues back. But that’s over half a year. Generally a loose end like Jocasta either comes back in the next issue or is teased throughout to remind the readers that its totally going to be a plot device.

If not, usually the loose end doesn’t come back so soon. And just gets brought back by the first writer who remembers it was a thing.

Apparently Jocasta has just been propped up in Hank Pym’s living room the whole time with Jan growing more and more disgruntled with it.

There’s not much to say about Jocasta herself. She’s kind of like the Wonder Man zuvembie. More plot device than character right now. But an intriguing one.

So next time: more of this. The Revenge of the Return of the Bride of Ultron. But it won’t be called that, alas.

6 notes · View notes

fandom-fever-4-ever · 7 years

Text

Pastel Punk, GNC Virgil Headcanons part 1

Make-up, Piercings, and Tattoos!!! These are things me and @cosmic-chu came up with together!! All will be put under a read more because it is RIDICULOUSLY long. It ended up being roughly 10~12 pages if google doc depending on spacing

Virgil being really into make up, but being super self conscious and having trouble bringing himself to do anything more then the black under his eyes because he's terrified of being judged. He can only bring himself to indulge that much because it hides his severe bags and keeps everyone from getting concerned over his lack of sleep.

Roman being a super supportive big bro and he's actually the first one to figure it out!! It was by accident again but he was rlly enthusiastic about it when he found out!!

"Ahsjdkf Virgil u do make up too??? Why didn't you tell me sooner, oh my goodness I have to go get all my stuff be right back"

He comes back rlly fast with an armful of makeup supplies and just sets them down, he has a rlly proud smile like look at all my stuff these are quality items I'm telling u

Virgil is frozen in fear and apprehension when Roman first figures it out, but it melts into a timid hope when Roman seems excited and brings out all of his make up. He just shakily starts going through it all, silent but obviously reeling. It's clear he's waiting for the other shoe to drop but can't help but want to see what Roman has since a lot of it he's only seen in beauty guru videos that he binges like a guilty pleasure in he free time. And just lighting up with joy when it becomes clear Roman is going to be nothing but supportive, even though Virgil tries to hide how low key ecstatic he is.

Roman just takes Virgil under his wing. Roman is fucking fantastic with Show make up, over the top looks and exaggerating looks, while Virgil proves to be a master of the more subtle looks?

Roman kinda notices it but pretends he doesn't and just goes on to show Virgil all the cool makeup he has and here you can have this concealer it's too light for me anyways, and here you go here's a blending sponge!! I didn't use it yet so it's still clean, oh and do you want this black lipstick?? I still have another in my room I use red more though so you can have it!

he shows Virgil all the techniques he knows and the easiest way to apply symmetrical winged eyeliner, and he shows him how to contour and which colours and undertones suit Virgil the best ((and wow he's so good at subtle looks this is so unfair I literally just started teaching you))

Virgil just breaks down crying at some point because he just wasn't expecting this overwhelming support and he's confused on why he's being so supportive because he's still remembering all those years of solitude, convinced they actually still hate him on some level or they pity him

Roman being confused. Like?? Wait I thought we were having a fun time?? Was the makeup I used actually not good and it got in your eye?? Did I say something wrong?? Is the look rlly that bad? I thought it looked fine but?? D: what's wrong???

And when he learns why Virgil broke down, he feels his own heart break and he's just "oh no, oh Virgil no we don't hate you - we could never - oh Virgil come here"

Virge has to calm down before he can explain to Roman and by this point he's feeling humiliated and is mumbling, hoping Ro doesn't catch on to what he's saying, but obviously he does and he just curls up in Ro's arms

Roman can't say he 100% understands what Virgil is feeling but he understands the feeling of humiliation, so he just hugs Virgil as much as he can while it still being comfortable, and he kinda has to adjust the position cause it's an awkward one where he can't hug him properly, and he's just muttering back compliments and reassuring him, and he can't do it as well as Logan can with all his facts but he still tries ((it doesn't help that they fought - sometimes still do - a lot))

Virgil eventually calms down and they hesitantly go back to make up. Virgil shows a heavy preference to purples, black, greys and (surprisingly? Considering how bright the color usually is) pink. Sometimes blues

Roman actually really likes the colour combination! He gives Virgil a smokey eye look ((which is personally one of his favourite ones to do)) and it's not too heavy, and the look is mostly natural since he decided to go super extra another time

Unsurprisingly, Roman likes using reds and golds, but he doesn't deny that the colours Virgil chose looks absolutely amazing on him. He's more than excited to show Patton and Logan the makeup :0

Virgil just looks so gosh darn content and happy. Like, he just genuinely looks the happiest he has in a while with his purple and grey smokey eye and dark purple/black lip stick and pale foundation and his contour

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-sprint-us&tbm=isch&q=purple+and+grey+smokey+eye&chips=q:purple+and+grey+smokey+eye,g_1:deep+purple&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLra-n2dPXAhWQkOAKHQr3BBcQ4lYIOCgA&biw=360&bih=560&dpr=3

(( And when I say dark purple/black lipstick, I mean one lip is one color and the other lip is the other color))

Roman is hella proud of himself and hella proud of Virgil cause like yas boi you rock that look so well!!! Patton look oml Virgil looks amazing Patton l o o k at him my gosh Logan you have to come here no science can explain how amazing he looks yes boi 👏

(( maybe like this lips from this? https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsaZMaUvisU81jtxvbgRUIkx7K1QPbIiYl2oHmy0Xq6F4HjWzW ))

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsaZMaUvisU81jtxvbgRUIkx7K1QPbIiYl2oHmy0Xq6F4HjWzW

Pfft Patton is just "oh my goodness!! Virgil!! Wow are those winged eyeliners cause you look like you could touch the sky!!"

And Logan?? "stunning. I like how you made the lipstick go from purple to black, it's a nice touch. And that eyeliner is amazing, perfectly symmetrical, you learn fast"

Virgil is just blushing super hard, though it's hard to tell because of his foundation and such.

Can you imagine Virge getting summoned by Thomas after that video is over (lets say people other then Thomas can see the sides when they pop up) because Roman and the other's were gushing over Virge's new look, cause you can bet your ass that Virge is gonna do his make up daily cause it's a confidence boost for him, and Ben wanted to compare Virge's make up to the anxiety inspired make up they put on Thomas

hc that this was why the Makeup Collab happened lmao 👌 and yes!! Just the others constantly gushing over Virgil's makeup- and pfft yes! Both of the makeup looks look amazing but Virgil does like his own more?? Idk maybe he likes it equally! :0

that's the best way (compliments) to fluster the boi- same for Logan :0 he'll say thank u but you /know/ he's secretly dying on the inside, you can see it on the colour of his cheeks

Roman's favourite colour is red because it's the colour they turn when he compliments and fluster them enough ;0

I think he and Talyn could bond over makeup looks!! First time appearing in front of them, he's super shy and nervous and oh god what would they think?? I mean they're Thomas' friends they should be nice right?? But what if they hate it, what if they hate him, what if Superwoman still hates him?? What do the others think????

He begins to panic but luckily Thomas is there so he's able to help calm him, with the help of Roman actually!! When Virgil is finally able to get back, the others help reassure him and congratulate him for not panicking because one step in front of the other and this is progress!

He pops up with his hood Up, and he doesn't look up to let them see his make up when he first appears, so they don't know why he's freaking out, so they're just congratulating him on handling his anxiety and it's only after that is handled does he feel comfortable enough to pull down his hood and let them see his make up

Everyone sees Roman as both Thomas's creativity and femininity, and they're right, but no one realised that Virgil was ALSO Thomas's feminine side in addition to Anxiety/Caution

Also??? Virgil has lashes fOR DAYS! His lashes are already long on their own, and then he applies mascara and whoa. He could give great butterfly kisses

And this time Roman didn't even help him put any makeup on so he's like double proud of him!! Triple even!! Hecc yes Logan look Virgil is amazing he managed to control his anxiety and also look at this makeup look he did?? He doesn't understand how Virgil ever thought they wouldn't like it but again this is /Virgil/, and Roman's never really had an easy time understanding him other than what's portrayed, so he doesn't dwell on it

Patton totally asks him for butterfly kisses!! It flusters Virgil a hecc ton but he does it anyways cause it's just Dad being silly right?? And Patton fake swoons and asks Roman to catch him and Logan just rolls his eyes

Virgil musters up the courage one day and gives all the sides, Thomas, and Thomas's friends butterfly kisses to show how much he appreciates them

Virgil doesn't know how to handle his big brother and dad

You can count on Patton and Roman to be super dramatic about it like wow, did the day Virgil got a little bit of confidence was the day they decided to be dramatic?? Roman actually fell onto the ground "oh you evil wizard, you have cursed me!" then he dramatically falls to the ground, his hand on his head. Logan stares at him blankly and Patton plays along like "Oh no roman!! What can I do??"

"avenge me dear padre! reclaim my honour and take down the wizard!"

"oh of course! I shall avenge you!" he kind of hunts down Virgil, like a game, and wants to have a tickle fight. Logan plays along just for the sake of it, being the "merchant who had information"

Virgil is so done, he's gonna cry because of how hard he's trying to hold in his laughter. He's just shaking his head before screeching like a pterodactyl when Patton suddenly starts tickling him.

All those who would tickle Virgil, be warned, he's a thrasher and a kicker

He manages to avoid it for a surprising amount of the day, he's fast, nimble, and flexible even in heels because he's definitely rocking heels with the make up

It's all rlly fun and fluffy, and not even Logan can keep back a smile at this!! Roman plays dead, but he's still watching them run around and he's laughing too

Patton learned to be good at avoiding it and where to block, of course he still gets hit sometimes but it doesn't rlly hurt him actually!

Once Patton had "avenged Roman" he comes back to life and assists Patton in his quest. Logan is actually on Virgil's side and give them the wrong info, but he pretends to be neutral for the sake of the game

Also: We've talked about Roman doing Virgil's make up

What about Virgil doing Roman's make up

Roman definitely let's Virgil practice on him. He brags to the others about how good the colors Virgil picked looks on him and he talks about how amazing Virgil is at makeup 👌 :0

Oops some examples if u wanna see them:

http://assets.bellashoot.com/images/posts/r450/b2/9a/0e/b29a0eab5f38e1b6044646a2e33358d4.jpg

http://www.watchoutladies.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Red-gold-and-black-eye-make-up.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4f/a3/24/4fa324a3b2002db04cd3fc17f329ac79--red-nails-gold-glitter.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/72/15/1c/72151c6654f6f64d020531bb501e65d0--red-lipstick-makeup-red-lipsticks.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/e5/88/31e5889801bb73f22fcd23c03c24f903.jpg

Also, Patton does nails

Examples of what Patton has done for Virgil if u wanna see them:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41CHQVF-GHL._SL500_.jpg

http://www.sparklypolish.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/butter.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4b/7a/11/4b7a115b1f30c3f56940605bc63c6437--fiction-china-glaze.jpg

http://fustany.com/images/en/photo/large_large_purple-nail-polish-art-fustany-13.jpg

http://fustany.com/images/en/photo/large_large_purple-nail-polish-art-fustany-12.jpg

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-sprint-us&biw=360&bih=299&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=cIQXWpbIHsbG_Qaf14LoCA&q=Purple+galaxy+nails&oq=Purple+galaxy+nails&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.3..0.66995.73579.0.74149.16.16.0.0.0.0.259.2370.0j13j2.15.0....0...1c.1j4.64.mobile-gws-img..4.11.1720...35i39k1j0i7i30k1j0i13k1j0i13i5i30k1j0i8i13i30k1.115.jV2aNbzLJaI

Sorry for the link spam, it's just all sooo pretty

Patton bonding with Virgil by doing his nails!! And he let's Virgil do his!!! :D

Patton is a voodoo master when it comes to nail polish. How does he do half the designs he does??? No one knows.

Virgil returns the favor the best he can. He paints Patton's nails a sky blue with a cat or dog on each nail, but it's a different breed each time. It's a little crudely done, messy, but half way decent because he's somewhat artistically inclined

Patton doesn't even care if he would just put a dot or something, he absolutely loves it anyways and he flaunts it around like look what my son did he's so talented!! Roman look at this dog!!! It's on my nails I love it!! :D

Virgil just hides his face in his hands. He loves that Patton loves it so much, but does everyone have to flaunt the things he does for them like they're the best thing they've ever seen?? especially considering Patton LITERALLY just painted a galaxy on his fingers??

But can't help it!! Virge is just so darn good and this is /Patton/ we're talking about, how could he not???? False tho, Virgil is the best thing he's ever seen

And Patton is just like, oh that's nothing rlly!! Yours is just as amazing!! I love it!! :D

Virgil just gives him the flattest look possible but it doesn't last long before he's snorting and smiling, hiding it behind his sleeve paw. Really, who could stay mad at Patton?

Easy answer: literally no one unless you're an absolute dicc :00 Patton ends up laughing along with him too, he doesn't quite understand why Virgil is laughing but hearing Virgil laugh is just??? So infectious??

Virge, Patton, and Roman have make overs!! And they drag Logan in when he isn't busy!! Also, Virge has dimples and does a cute lil snort when you get him laughing hard enough, but most of the time he just exhales harshly through his nose when he finds something humorous

Virge wears oversized shirts and hoodies to have them fall over his hands to have sweater paws

VIRGIL TEACHING HIMSELF HOW TO CAT THEMED MAKE UP

They def drag Logan in!! He doesn't even try to resist he just resigns to his faith lmao like okay fine but don't make me look horrible ((even if he knows they won't))

I'm just imagining one day he puts on his largest hoodie and he does his cat make up and then he's summoned for a video and no one was expecting him to show up looking like a cat

Patton?? He's dead, good bye Patton he squeals so hard again he goes into a coughing fit oh my gosh Patton pls it's just cat makeup Patton oh my god are you okay

I also think it'd be cool if he learned to do sfx makeup :00 oml and when it's Halloween?? Hecc dude his makeup skills are amazing it's horrifying :0

https://78.media.tumblr.com/a1bc3176bd52158a0bbeae853adc16dc/tumblr_messaging_ozwn53G5gQ1v2cgy8_1280.jpg

This. He does this :00 scares the hecc out of Patton-

Thomas tries to summon him for a video and all that appears is a note saying to meet him in his room so they go there and he makes them wait a few moments, makes them wonder before popping up with that ^ make up. It goes up later the next day for Halloween, It = the resulting video

and dude he has this little fake spiders placed onto his face and oh my god Logan, Logan they're coming out of his eye Logan there are spiders from his eye logAN WE'RE NEXT ARENT WE AHHHHHH

”Pat pls it's just makeup”

”It's hORRFYING MAKEUP ((but good job tho))”

It takes Roman a sec to realise it's not actually a monster to fight, there isn't a bunch of spiders coming out, it's SFX make up

like he's so ready to protect the others from this horrible spider disease ((and he's also rlly sad for a moment cause oh shit fuck Virgil got it ohnonononono)) and then like Virgil pulls one of the little spiders off his face ((ow latex)) and he's just g u y s I don't have a goddamn disease I'm fine this is makeup u dingers

"pat please look the legs are just q tips painted black it's okay"

Logan was also concerned for a sec but y'know, pssh he totally knew from the very beginning what are you talking about

The internet never let's the three of them live this down

How Virgil calms Patton down is by taking off the make up and promising to use his new found skills to turn him into a cat or dog

You can bet that Virgil has been secretly learning for year(s) to get that good

Oml Virgil doing face paint for Patton- ((roman secretly jealous cause uh?? He's supposed to be the painty creative dude unfair???))

when Roman started teaching him he pretended to not know what most of the items were, but come on there's no way he learned that fast Ro

He makes Logan look like a Squip from BMC / Just like a program with circuit board patterns using his makeup

Logan actually really digs the look and Roman is like?? Holy shit?? Hell yes Logan oh my god why didn't you tell me you were a Squip lol hey Patton u wanna be Christine or should it be me

I was thinking tattooed Virgil ( ͡° ౪ ͡° )

What if since they can change how they look, they can do that too?? :0 ((I strongly headcanon Roman has at least one--))

But would they really be permanent on the sides since they technically don't exist on the physical plane, they visit it?

maybe they can like "erase it" but otherwise it's "permanent"? :0 idk-

Virgil with piercings too

I mean, he said it himself, a dark persona is a sure fire way to out Thomas's guard up, which is kinda his job to make Thomas do. So he does it just as much for his persona as he does because he genuinely loves it.

He had snake bites, angel bites maybe, Like, three piercings on each ear and maybe some eyebrow piercings?? ((I'm more for snake bites ฅ'ω'ฅ))

And he adds them real subtly too, until one day everyone just suddenly notices Virge has piercings???

Virge With A Tongue Piercing

They think they know where all of the piercings are, but then one day he just sticks out his tongue and everyone is just like???? when did you get a tongue piercing?!?!

And Virge just cheekily admits it's the first one he got

I just like it when Roman is jealous lmao so Roman is now jealous of how good and fitting the look is on Virgil

Logan is like ?? Well this is a thing now okay just make sure you take care of it

Patton is!! Shooketh!! On one hand it looks really good but also!! Dad mode!!!!

he has a nose piercing ;00

And like?? The others support the fact he seems to be showing up with a new piercing each meet, it looks hella good on him anyways so just 👌

He’s just a happy little pierced, tattooed bean in his crop top, shorts, heels, choker, and make-up

What if... On the topic of piercings.... Virgil got a belly button piercing and the other sides only find out later on when he’s wearing a crop top, and they’re like??? We support you, but please tells us about these things sir

We can't keep finding out about piercings three weeks after the fact when they get thoughtlessly revealed, man

like mMM virgIL when did thIS???? - I mean don't get us wrong we love it a lot, but wHEN????

Dude what other places did u get piercings

When did you decide to get them why and how do they look so good on u

Thomas is low-key like.... Contemplating having him and Virge swap outfits for a day and have Virgil host a video, acting as Thomas, because it'll be the first time Fanders will see pierced Virgil so why not pull a fake out and make them think Thomas got a bunch of piercings done all at once for a video??? Because once they show off Virgil's piercings to the Fanders, they won't be able to pull that sorta thing off again (At least with Virgil)

I know I would be like, super surprised at first because I wouldn't suspect Virgil to have them!! Even if I hc it- if this happened ;0 damn now I'm just thinking of what if Thomas has a piercing we don't know about-

But my thing is... What if Virgil acted like Thomas, Like an actor taking a character role, so no one realised it was Virgil until either the next video where Thomas shows up without piercings, or the end card where the might reveal the switch?

he would be rlly hella good at acting like Thomas, and Thomas would obviously play a convincing Virgil, and then e n d c a r d, just him doing his usual thing but like where did the piercings go?? We're those fake?? And then also cut to Virgil who h a s the piercings and it's just w a i t a t i c

The Fandom would explode XD while Thomas and the Sides just cackle along at the side lines

All the fanart that would appear??? It would fuel me ;0

The f i c s of Virgil having piercings my god I wish I had them all :0

Virgil is torn between flattered and overwhelmed because you know he'd be watching the fandom like a hawk after the reveal

just wow why are all these amazing people making so much art of me, like I know it would be a big thing but I didn't think it would be /that big/

Just a bunch of "Virgil with piercings??? [opinion]?!???!!??????"

I can't imagine a bad opinion tho the chances seem rlly low for that

Like rlly, rlly, rlly low

Honestly, he was expecting more of a negative push, but instead there was this overwhelmingly positive push and he just??? Almost cries??? He doesn't, at least not in front of the others, he internalizes it until he's alone but he is just so touched???

of course, it's a big thing, they can't possibly like it right?? This was a horrible idea why did we even- “o h”

”Oh they like it”

”Oh they like it a l o t” *u can see the tears beginning to form*

*Casually tries to leave the room to get to his own room to cry because he's so happy, there is no way to feel negative in the face of just overwhelming positivity*

Patton notices him leave and he's just??? Kiddo where u going?? :o

And he's not sure if he should tell Patton but he rlly doesn't want Patton to worry about it so he just like, plays it off, manages to keep his voice from cracking when he says he's just tired and heading to his room for a bit

Patton doesn't believe him, he can tell because he like, narrows his eyes for a sec, but he just goes "okay! :D make sure to rest up, I'll wake you for dinner! ❤"

"Yeah yeah...thanks, Love ya dad" in a really sincere tone because he means it

((He hears Patton's squeal and an "I love you too, kiddo!" back, but it's sort of faint since he's already dashed out of there but he still smiles, and damn he cries of joy. He didn't cry as much as he thought he would, but he still does and it feels good to cry out of happiness for once))

Hes curled up in bed on top of the pile of plushies he now has because of the others

I’m imagining Virgil has a few tattoos, which are like, on his upper back

Oof I immediately thought of a winged tattoo, but I'm also thinking roses or something idk

Click here if you wanna see the idea we came up with for the back tattoo!ヾ(〃^∇^)ﾉ

4 notes · View notes

puella-magi-cassandra · 7 years

Text

A Fear of Falling (1/1)

Pairing: AoKise Words: 6096 Status: Complete Read on AO3

Society says that your soulmate is supposed to be your destined romantic partner.

Kise knows this isn't the case.

Aomine doesn't.

Notes: It's AoKise day, which in my opinion, is the perfect day for Soulmate AUs, thus my third AoKise day soulmate AU.

Happy AoKise day everyone! don't ask me about my wips i'll get to them i swear

Ryouta has always known there are flaws in the system, of course. His parents have always been very candid on the fact; they are very clear that just because Soulmate Marks exist doesn’t mean that there’s fated romantic love between the two people who are linked.

Ryouta’s mother’s soulmate is her best friend, after all; platonic soulmates the two of them, and Ryouta knows they love each other as deeply as one can love, just not in a romantic sense, and sometimes he thinks that wouldn’t be so bad, to have a best friend who you loved so much.

His father’s soulmate had been sick all her life. And she’d died very young, shortly after they had met.

After all, being fated doesn’t necessarily mean that things end happily.

His father’s always been very clear that he loves their mother the way she is, and that he has never once wished that she was the soulmate that he lost – that what they have might not necessarily be fate, but that they chose each other is just as meaningful as a destiny.

Still, Ryouta’s a romantic. He loves the idea of being bound by fate to another soul, of finding your one true love. He complains when his sisters watch their silly dramas, the ones where they always find that person, but he secretly loves to watch them too.

Ryouta’s Mark sits just next to the jut of his hipbone, and he wonders what the person is like, the one that is linked with the little symbol.

There’s a whole trade set up for the analysis of Marks, of course; there are some things about them that can’t be seen easily by regular people. Ryouta never sets up for one of these appointments, though both of his sisters do.

It’s more interesting, he thinks, not knowing. After all, he’s sure he’ll know who his soulmate is when he meets them.

(Daiki, on the other hand, does not really understand that the system isn’t quite what it seems.

His parents are soulmates. So are Satsuki’s. The world where Soulmate Marks are flawed doesn’t occur to him. He’s a simple kid, after all. Thinking about flaws in destiny’s system is too big and complicated to come to his mind even if he had a reason to dwell on it.

It’s just that it doesn’t occur to him that a soulmate might be something different to what he expects.)

The thing about modelling is that it’s kind of one of those things which depends on the continued mystery of the Mark. There’s an allure, they explain to him, in your target market being able to think that maybe they might be your soulmate.

Some career models opt to have theirs removed, but Ryouta’s too attached to the dark symbol in his skin. It’s easy enough to cover up with makeup or have it photoshopped out in the few shoots which would have it exposed anyway.

But it makes him more careful in everyday life, especially when he plays sports and gets changed. He doesn’t really have any body shame, but he tries to make an effort to keep it covered up. It’s not like Soulmate Marks are really a big deal at this age anyway. Very few people have met their soulmates this early in life, and well, there are so many more interesting things to be doing than thinking about love and the rest of your life; things like sports and winning.

Ryouta thinks he only dwells on his thoughts of Soulmate Marks because he’s so damn bored.

(He’s not really sure what compels him to throw his basketball at Kise Ryouta’s head of shiny blond hair.

Daiki’s seen pictures of him, and heard girls whispering about him around the school. Even Satsuki, who is as basketball-obsessed as he is – she really just hides it better – has spoken about him.

It’s not until a long time later that he figures out what pulled him to chuck his basketball at Kise Ryouta, but he doesn’t think about it all that much when he does it. After all, basketball isn’t going to play itself, and once Kise hits first string, he wants to play all the time.)

When he does figure it out, Ryouta doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He really suspects he should have seen it coming, after all. He’s been half in love with Aomine for what feels like most of his life, after all; maybe it’s only been three years, but it feels like forever, with everything that happened (the rise of glory and talent, the bitter fall, the desperate fights and the reconciliation after all of them had had a little bit more sense beaten into them – it’s been a rollercoaster few years). And well. Their meeting did have a very ‘fated’ feeling to it. Ryouta could still remember the way his heart had beat harder watching Aomine play that very first time.

Ryouta knows the system is more than a little bit flawed, but at Teikou he’d still been convinced that maybe it would work out for him. He was a romantic like that, after all. Even though both his parents, and one of his sisters, at that point, had all been unconventionally matched, didn’t mean he would be too.

Ryouta’s always been too busy making sure that his mark doesn’t get seen to try and look at other peoples’ marks. At Teikou, though none of the other starters had given a shit about Soulmate Marks, Ryouta had always had to be on guard because of the growing displeasure of some of the other members of Teikou’s basketball team. There were many bench warmers and boys that didn’t even make regulars, who would have thought very little of giving out the secret of Ryouta’s Mark, if they’d realised the difficulty revealing it could bring to his life.

Although he was more relaxed at Kaijou, Ryouta was still wary.

The first glance he gets at Aomine’s mark is when his slightly-too-small shirt rides up (he’s growing again, what the fuck, that isn’t fair) as he stretches his arms up above his head after a game of one-on-one, and it leaves him feeling breathless and afraid.

He knows that mark sitting on Aomine’s side, after all. It’s the same one that sits just beside his hipbone, and is hidden by his shorts. A stalking black cat; well, it’s probably something a little bit more wild than a mere cat . But that’s what it is nonetheless. He sees it every day on his own skin.

His eyes are caught on it, and for some reason, Aomine’s brain picks now to figure out what he’s staring at.

“It’s kinda cool, huh? People keep saying it suits me more than anything, but when we got it looked at by those weirdos, they said it was a ‘copy’ or something.”

A copy cat.

A fucking copy cat.

Ryouta nods absently, and he honestly felt kind of light-headed, because this wasn’t fair. This really wasn’t fair. Aomine was straight ; they must be just platonic soulmates. Even as Ryouta thought about it, and asked himself why he would be Aomine’s platonic soulmate instead of Momoi - that really didn’t make sense - it seemed to be the only sensible answer to what their link was. It was so fucked up.

Aomine tilts his head thoughtfully. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen yours. I’ve seen Satsuki’s and Tetsu’s. Think I saw Midorima’s once. You do have one, right?”

“Of course I have one,” Ryouta answers. He really wasn’t in the right place to deal with this line of inquiry. “I have to keep it hidden for my job. Increases my allure if people think they could be my soulmate.”

Aomine snorts. “Sounds ridiculous.”

He hums in agreement. “Let’s go one more, Aominecchi!”

Basketball. Basketball would distract them both from this terrifying, horrifying conversation and he could forget about it until he was alone and then he could deal with the hysteria that was bubbling up in his chest.

‘Later’ is when he gets home after desperately attempting to act as normal as possible the rest of the time they spent together, sitting at the dinner he paid for because that’s how they do this – when Ryouta loses one-on-one he pays for dinner, and he’s always up to do it even though Aomine’s a pig because he loves playing basketball with Aomine and he’ll do anything to play just one more game – and desperately trying to find something to chatter about that isn’t Soulmate Marks, because he’s always chatty and Aomine will notice if he’s being quiet.

Later is in the shower where he washes off the sweat of his and Aomine’s games and stares at the little cat prowling on his skin and wonders if fate is somehow genetic because his entire family seems to be cursed to irregular soulmates.

Later is in his bed as he tries not to feel so disappointed that the world and system he already knew was screwed up has turned itself on him too.

It feels kind of as if it was inevitable, and that’s almost the worst part of all.

(Daiki sees Kise’s by accident.

It’s their last year of high school, and he’d ditched practice to come over to Kaijou because there was an itch to play a proper game because the autumn tournaments were too fucking far away. He’d gone to Kaijou because it was always easier to convince Kise to play a game or five than it was Kagami because Kagami had a demon coach and Kise was practically a junkie for one on ones.

He’d had to wait outside until Kaijou’s practice was over, but that was fine. He just napped until Kise came to fetch him, because it was still warm enough outside to do so.

Kise wasn’t at his best because he’d just gone a whole practice and Daiki hadn’t, but that was okay, because Kise always kept going until he practically couldn’t stand anymore. It was worth the trip, he decided in the end; but he was still going to make Kise pay for dinner.

He sees it because Kise’s towel was lower on his hips than he’d probably meant it to be and was too tired to realise, and the moment Daiki sees it, he knows what it is, and he knows Kise had seen his last year and before he can help himself, he’s standing up. Feeling like his whole body was shaking with how angry he was because Kise knew, and he’d kept it from him.

“What’s that, Kise?” he asks, and he feels like he isn’t even in control of himself, he feels like he’s outside his own body, staring at that stupid mark on Kise’s fucking hip.

And Kise goes very still. Daiki has never seen Kise go still like that before, because he was one of those annoying people who was constantly doing something. He watches Kise’s gaze flick towards Daiki as if in confirmation. He clearly knows what Daiki is talking about though, because he looks very scared as he tugs the cloth to hide Daiki’s Mark from his sight. Kise doesn’t answer his question, but he doesn’t need to. It’s pretty damning, after all and he couldn’t say it was nothing . They both know what it is.

“What is it?” he asks again, because he wants the answer even if he doesn’t need it. Daiki moves closer, feeling hot and cold somehow in his fury.

When Kise doesn’t answer, he reaches out to tug the towel down just that bit so he could see it again to get a better look, even though he doesn’t need to.

It was his . His Mark is on Kise’s skin there, and Kise had to have known the moment he’d seen Daiki’s last year. It’s the same, after all, though Daiki’s is the copy , and shit he’d find that hilarious if he wasn’t so fucking furious because Kise is his goddamned soulmate and he hadn’t said anything.

“Were you going to tell me?”

Kise looks away from him. “I didn’t know how,” he finally says. “It’s... look, my whole family’s like fate’s practical joke okay. It’s probably just a platonic one, you know? My mum’s is like that too. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not— not a big deal ?” He lets go of the towel and Kise hitches it back up again to hide the Mark from sight. “Fuck that. Fuck that .” He feels like he’s going to explode . “This is a huge deal! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! You’ve known for ages . You weren’t going to fucking say anything? Didn’t you think I deserved to know ?”

“I... I thought it might be better,” Kise says quietly. “Plenty of people live their lives normally without meeting their soulmate, get married to other people. You’re straight , Aominecchi.”

There’s something very desperate about Kise’s expression, but he doesn’t want to hear his stupid flimsy excuses. Kise didn’t deserve to keep this knowledge away from him.

“Fuck you, Kise.”

If he stays here any longer, he’s going to punch him. He doesn’t really want to hit Kise (he doesn’t want to hit his soulmate ), but he’s so angry , and he doesn’t know how to deal with it, doesn’t know what to do with the hurt and the anger and betrayal that’s spiralling through him.

He turns away to yank his clothes on as fast as he can, and leaves without saying another word.

He digs his phone out of his bag as he walks out of Kaijou’s ridiculously enormous grounds because he needs Satsuki. He needs to talk to her right fucking now. His phone is full of angry messages from her, but he’ll deal with her giving him that lecture about being a role model for their juniors and not skipping practice later.

“ Where have you been?” Is the first thing she says she picks up the phone. Not even a hello. Typical.

Not that he could really talk.

“Kanagawa.”

He hears her sigh over the line. “ I know you like playing with Ki-chan, but it’s really bad form to turn up at another school unannounced and uninvited while skipping your own practice! ”

“Satsuki, shut up and let me talk for a second.”

That startles her into silence for a second. He never wants to talk. He doesn’t really want to talk now, either, except that he doesn’t know what to do and Satsuki always knows what to do.

“... Dai-chan, what’s wrong? What happened? Did you get into a fight with Ki-chan? ”

He runs his free hand through his hair. “Kind of. It’s not my fault, before you say anything!”

“... I wasn’t going to ,” she answers, but it isn’t very convincing.

“So you’ve never seen Kise’s Mark, right?”

“ I’ve heard some rumours, but I haven’t seen it for myself so I have no hard information on it. Popular models are usually discouraged from making them public knowledge .”

“Just say no like a normal person, Satsuki.”

“... Oh dear. ”

The words come out softly, because she is the most brilliant girl he’s ever met and she’s put everything together already with her incredible mind. Daiki doesn’t often envy her intelligence, though he knows her brain will probably get her further in life than basketball will ever get him, but he’s at the very least thankful for it right now.

“Yeah.”

“ He’d already seen yours, hadn’t he? ”

“Yeah.”

There’s a loud rushing noise against the speaker of his phone as she sighs. “He probably didn’t hide it to hurt you .”

“He didn’t have the right to keep it from me.”

“I agree . He didn’t at all. You have every right to be angry at Ki-chan. ”

The line falls silent between them.

“ ...Did he say why? ” Satsuki asks.

“He gave me some poor excuses. I don’t know. I was too angry to listen properly.”

“That’s okay. When you cool down, you can go talk to Ki-chan again and hear him out properly .” She pauses, as if she’s deciding whether there’s something she wants to say. “ Are you okay? Are you okay with your soulmate being Ki-chan? ”

“I’m pissed,” he mutters, “but I’ll live. I don’t know about that other one yet.”

“ Okay. Let’s hang out this weekend, okay Dai-chan?” )

Aomine doesn’t speak to him for almost a month.

He’s never been overly in contact, which is something Ryouta tells himself to try and make himself feel better, but the fact is that Aomine is furious at him, and he has every right to be. That is what makes the silence unbearable.

The stony silence he gets from Momoi, too, indicates that she has a lot of things she would like to say to him on the topic of hiding the fact that they’re soulmates, but that she’s going to wait until Aomine is alright with speaking to him again. She hadn’t actually said as much, of course, but Ryouta can figure it from the way that she refuses to answer any of his messages.

When Momoi finally sends a text telling him Aomine is willing to speak to him, he turns into a bundle of nerves. Not just because Aomine won’t text him directly, which is a bad sign, but because he’s more than a little worried he’s going to fuck this up and lose even the platonic bond he and Aomine have had for so long.

They meet at a little coffee place. It’s Momoi’s suggestion, because it’s a ‘neutral space’. The two of them spend about five minutes there, looking at the drinks menu being awkward and silent, before Aomine stands up, clearly done trying to make Momoi’s suggestion work.

“We’re going to the basketball court,” Aomine tells him. Ryouta can’t say he didn’t see it coming, and he has to bite back a smile, despite his nerves and the situation. He nods his response, and picks up his bag.

Ryouta’s always wondered if Aomine has some kind of magical basketball sensors that tell him where the closest court is to wherever he happens to be. He kind of suspects he does when they arrive at one ten minutes later, and he’s fairly sure neither of them has ever been there before.

Aomine pulls a basketball out of his bag and throws it at him.

“Aren’t we going to talk?” Ryouta asks.

“When I feel like it,” Aomine grumbles. “I feel like playing a few games first.”

Ryouta loses three games before Aomine decides it’s time to start talking.

“Why?”

Ryouta sits down. “Aominecchi,” he says, “you have to understand, my family is practically cursed with this soulmate thing. It never works out for us the way the world says it’s supposed to.”

Aomine frowns down at him. “You said something like that before.”

He continued on without commenting on Aomine’s interruption. “What was I supposed to think? You like girls, Aominecchi, and you’ve never been shy about it.”

“But we’re soulmates.” Aomine says it like it’s simple. Maybe it is for him.

Ryouta gestures at himself. “Aominecchi, what part of me looks like it has the bits you like?”

Aomine shrugs. “But if you’re my soulmate, doesn’t that mean I’m going to like you?”

“That’s... not exactly how it works, Aominecchi.”

He flops back against the ground. He already feels tired out by Aomine’s persistence, somehow.

“Do you not like me, then? Is that it?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Ryouta answers instantly.

“So then what’s the big deal?” Aomine sits down next to him and flicks his forehead.

Ryouta sighs and thinks a bit about how to answer. In the end, it’s just too hard.

“Fine, whatever. You think it’ll work, we’ll try, I guess. I still think it’s just platonic, and you should go off and find someone who you’re actually interested in in that way, but clearly words aren’t going to work.”

“ Finally ,” Aomine says, and sighs. “You’re such hard work, Kise. Come on, get up, I want to play again.”

(Daiki doesn’t really start to get what Kise means until he gets home and talks to Satsuki about it.

She looks like she doesn’t want to agree with Kise, because her face is all screwed up, but she does, in the end, say, “Well, he’s not entirely wrong, Dai-chan.”

He knows she’s still mad at Kise, so clearly there’s something he’s missing.

“What do you mean?”

“Have you thought about what it means? Like, really thought about it? Have you thought about going on dates with Ki-chan, and kissing him? And...” she pauses, pulls a face, but bravely soldiers on, “and have you thought about having sex with Ki-chan?”

“Like... in detail?”

“Yes, in detail!” Satsuki is red in the face, like she doesn’t want to be having this conversation with him. She probably doesn’t, but Daiki knows better than to think that she’ll let him shut down the conversation for her sake.

“I mean, sort of? I looked it up, because I wasn’t sure how you were supposed to do it?”

She sighs. “I meant more like, did you think about whether or not it would gross you out to touch Ki-chan’s bits, Dai-chan.”

He frowns and thinks about it for a moment.

“He’s my soulmate though. I mean, I probably wouldn’t wanna put my fingers in some other guy’s--“

“ Dai-chan!”

He smirks at her, and she hits him with a cushion.

“I’d do it for Kise, though,” he finishes.

“But do you want to do it? Dai-chan, this is really important. It’s okay to not want to be with Ki-chan in that way. There are some people whose soulmates are platonic, you know. I don’t want you to think or feel like you have to be with Ki-chan like this just because you’re soulmates.”

Daiki sighs and groans. “Too much thinking. It’s fine. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But I want to try.” He pauses for a moment. “You know, Kise looked really sad, talking about it all not working.”

“Well,” Satsuki says, her voice quiet, “it doesn’t always. We were really lucky, you know. Growing up surrounded by soulmates the way everyone says it’s supposed to be.”)

Dating Aomine is weirder than Ryouta expects, but perhaps that’s because he didn’t expect it to happen at all.

He expects that they won’t really go on a lot of ‘traditional’ dates, and he’s fine with that. Sometimes they do go out and see movies, but most of their dates involve playing a lot of basketball and video games after.

Aomine’s always had very little understanding of the concept of personal space and he’s always been comfortable with casual touching, so that part isn’t actually all that different from before, except that Aomine maybe keeps touching longer than he used to, and seems very comfortable sprawling all over Ryouta in private in a way he never did before.

Ryouta still can’t bring himself to believe that this will work out.

Most of Aomine’s touches are fairly casual; the kinds of touches people who’re really close and comfortable friends might make, especially if one of them is an asshole like Aomine is and likes to squash your legs or back.

Sometimes, though, his fingers linger around where they know his Mark sits on Ryouta’s skin, and it makes him flush. Aomine doesn’t slide his fingers under his clothes to touch it skin on skin, but somehow the way his fingers linger where they both know Aomine’s Mark sits under his clothes still feels kind of intimate.

They’re playing video games one afternoon at Aomine’s place and Aomine is lying across his legs in a way that doesn’t look like it should be at all comfortable, especially given the angle he has to lie at to keep his eyes on the screen. Ryouta’s gotten a bit more used to the way he has to rest his arms on Aomine when he insists on lying like this, but he’s still overly conscious of the warmth of his body across his legs and under his elbows.

Aomine shifts. “Your elbows are bony,” he complains.

“You’re in the way,” Ryouta whines in return. “What else am I supposed to do?”

Aomine sighs in a very put upon way, as if Ryouta is the one being ridiculous and not him and moves so it’s just his head on Ryouta’s thigh.

It takes a lot for Ryouta’s head to not instantly go somewhere much less innocent.

Aomine looks up at him like he knows what he’s trying so hard not to think about - he probably does, he’s a pervert - and grins in that kind of evil way he does sometimes when he’s got you on the ropes.

“You’re kind of cute from this angle,” he says casually.

He’s going to die. He’s definitely going to die. He’s staring at Aomine and his head is just empty, he doesn’t know what to do, because he wants to hope so bad, but he doesn’t want to get hurt—

“You think really loudly,” Aomine tells him. “Stop stressing so much.”

Aomine sits up then, and his rough fingers are gentle when they touch Ryouta’s cheek. He’s caught by the gentle expression on Aomine’s face as his fingers slide down Ryouta’s face and then around his neck. They stay like that for a moment, Ryouta staring helplessly at Aomine and the almost disconcerting expression on his face, before Aomine guides his face closer with the hand around his neck and kisses him, soft and easy and over way too fast.

Aomine lets go easily and lies back down, his head back on Ryouta’s thigh. “Focus on the game more. You’re losing really badly today.”

Ryouta loses even worse in their next game, but he doesn’t feel like he’s just been beaten so badly the way Aomine laughs.

(When everyone finds out they’re soulmates, a surprising and annoying number of people comment to Daiki either that in hindsight, it makes total sense, or that they just don’t really get it at all. Those who’re more aware of how messed up the system is ask Daiki if he’s sure it’s not platonic, since doesn’t he like girls and breasts?

He’s not sure why both comments annoy him – surely one of them should at least be amusing – but they do. Maybe it’s the way people claim it’s so obvious, when they both only figured it out from seeing their mark on the other’s skin; and maybe it’s the way people deny it outright, and fortify Kise’s belief that it’s a platonic soulmate mark and undo all of Daiki’s work to convince him that maybe it’s not.

If Daiki was destined for a platonic soulmate, it would be Satsuki, he thinks. Besides, there’s always been something a bit special and a bit different about Kise, though he hadn’t really thought about it much – he’d had so many other things on his mind. Everyone always says he’s an idiot, right?

Daiki’s sure he loves Kise. He’s actually pretty sure he’s always loved Kise, just maybe not always romantically. But he had loved Kise as a friend, and loved him as a rival; and maybe it was naive, but he wanted to believe that he would love him in every way, and if that was because Kise was his soulmate, then that was just how it was.

Touching Kise had always felt right before, whether it was roughhousing or skinship. Touching the spot where he now knew Kise was marked for him, made him feel warm. Kissing Kise, maybe it wasn’t like kissing a girl - he’d tried that a few times, and it’d been nice enough - but it felt right too, the way being with Kise had always felt right before.

He only hoped that Kise felt the same way.

While sometimes it was easy to read Kise, simply knowing him well, Daiki often found it difficult to know how he was feeling. Kise was secretive and slippery beneath the loud and boisterous mask that he wore, putting on a show to distract people from what he didn’t want them to see.

When Kise wanted to hide something, Daiki wanted to be the one who could see through it all, and it frustrated him that he couldn’t. He knew Kise was insecure about their bond, but not whether anything he did made him feel better. He knew Kise loved him, but couldn’t figure out whether his own feelings - which seemed to be getting stronger all the time - were getting through to him.

And he didn’t really want to say it, because saying it would be embarrassing, and he really wasn’t very good at the whole feelings thing.

“Oi, Satsuki.”

Satsuki sighs as he interrupts her. “We’re supposed to be studying, Dai-chan. Were you listening at all?”

“No,” he answers, because there’s no point lying to her. “How do I make Kise feel secure about being soulmates?”

Satsuki looks at the ceiling, something she often does when he’s not doing what she would like him to, and then shifts on the couch so she’s facing him. “Well, why does Ki-chan feel insecure about the two of you being soulmates?”

“Because he’s stupid.”

“Dai-chan.”

“He is!”

Satsuki smacks the back of his head. “Ki-chan is insecure because you have never been interested in other boys, and he is scared that one day you’ll realise you can’t be with him, or that it makes you uncomfortable or grosses you out, and that you’ll stop dating him. Ki-chan is trying to protect himself from the pain this would cause him, because Ki-chan loves you.”

“So, you guys made up?”

Satsuki closes her eyes, exhales, and hits him again. “Only time and reassurance will help Ki-chan feel more secure. Have you actually told him you love him, Dai-chan?”

Daiki frowns at her. “He should just know.”

Satsuki covers her face with her hands. “You’re so stupid. Why don’t you talk to him instead of me? I guarantee that it would do wonders for your relationship.”

Daiki pulls a face at her.

“And, just so you know, I let Ki-chan have a piece of my mind before I let him off the hook.”

He snorts and grins. “Of course you did.”)

Ryouta wants to believe that it’ll work out. He does .

It’s just that, it seems so unlikely. He knows Aomine likes him, that Aomine enjoys his company, and that he isn’t bothered by kissing him.

But he worries all the same.

He worries Aomine will touch him one day and wonder why there aren’t the curves that he likes. That he will realise he doesn’t love Ryouta romantically, just as a close friend, which isn’t… a lesser thing, his mother made damn sure he knew that a platonic soulmate was just as special as a romantic one, but because Ryouta has loved him so much, for so long , it feels like it would destroy him for Aomine to pull away. Or it would if he let himself get any more attached.

It feels like it should be fading, the sense of fear, but it isn’t, and Ryouta knows too, that it isn’t fair to Aomine to keep him at arm's length like this, to push him away when he’s trying to get close, to judge his potential for pain without thought for the potential of happiness.

He thinks like this before every one of their dates, even though he knows he shouldn’t. He keeps expecting Aomine to walk up to him before their date one day and tell him he’s changed his mind.

Today they’re just playing basketball before video games. Ryouta arrived early, as he usually does, and he’s just sitting on the wooden bench beside the court. It’s almost winter - they won’t be able to play at this court much longer, but Ryouta always feels sentimental about this particular court in this park - it was where they played a lot of one on one during that first year of his at Teikou.

“Kise.”

Ryouta starts a little, and smiles at Aomine. “You snuck up on me!” he accuses him. “Have you been taking lessons from Kurokocchi?”

“Aa? You were the one sitting there staring into space like an idiot.”

Aomine drops his bag next to Ryouta’s and sits down next to him on the bench. “Can we talk?”

Ryouta swears he can feel his stomach dropping and his heart clench at the words. Somehow, he realises, despite all the thinking and worrying, he still wasn’t prepared. His throat feels tight.

“What the- Kise, what’s wrong?” Aomine has gotten up, and he kneels down in front of him, one hand grabbing Kise’s tightly, the other rubbing his face. Oh. He’s crying. “You gotta tell me Kise, I don’t know what to do.”

If he was any less distressed, he’d laugh at the obviously panicked expression Aomine has on his face and tone of voice. As it is, all he feels like he can do is cling tightly onto the hand Aomine’s given him.

“Should I call Satsuki? She always knows what to do, will she make it better?”

Ryouta shakes his head. “Don’t leave me.” It comes out pathetic, needy, weak. Ryouta hates it, hates himself a little for it, for wanting something from their bond that he’d always known Aomine wasn’t able to give. “I’m not ready yet.”

Aomine frowns. “I don’t understand.”

It an effort to pull in a full breath, but he manages it. “I’m not ready to break up.”

“Wha- we’re not breaking up! Who told you that?! I’ll beat them up, I swear to you.”

His outrage is kind of adorable, and somehow he manages to laugh wetly. “No, you said you want to talk, that always turns into a breakup conversation.”

Aomine sighs and his head drops into Ryouta’s lap. It gets another laugh out of him. “God’s sake, can’t start a single fucking conversation…”

“You’re not breaking up with me?”

“Of course not, stupid!”

Aomine sighs again and stands up. “Come on, idiot, lets go wash your face alright?” He’s still holding Ryouta’s hand, and he uses it to help him up.

“I just… wanted to ask you what you think we could do to… make you feel better about this?” Aomine is determinedly not looking at him as they walk towards the nearby public toilet. “I mean, I guess, this kind of proves we need to do something about it, we can’t have you just waiting for me to break up with you.”

He’s starting to feel more than a little bit embarrassed as Aomine talks, but then, Aomine’s looking a bit embarrassed too, since he’s talking so much, and it’s showing how much he’s actually thought about this, and usually Aomine doesn’t think about… well, anything, except basketball and boobs.

And… clearly… him.

Ryouta shifts a little closer to drop his head against Aomine’s shoulder. “Just tell me you love me until it sticks,” he mumbles. He’s not sure he’s even serious about the suggestion.

Aomine is quiet for a few steps, and Ryouta starts to think that maybe he didn’t hear him, which is just as well, since he’s starting to feel embarrassed by it and hoping that he didn’t, but--

“I mean… I do, you know. So uh… I… could.”

His awkwardness betrays him - he probably would die of mortification first - but his willingness makes Ryouta feel like his insides are about to melt.

“It’s cute that you think you could say it that often, Aominecchi.”

“Oi, shut up!”

“I’ll make it easier for you, and just ask you if you still love me today so all you have to say is yes.”

“Just go fucking wash your face so we can play ball, idiot!”

(Daiki wakes up, and it’s hard to tell what time it is - his room is dark, but that doesn’t mean anything really - but Kise is there, and it’s warm, and he has no shirt on under the blankets in his bed.

Kise’s sleepy eyes turn to him - maybe it’s morning after all - and he smiles at him, and it still does funny things to Daiki’s stomach, even now, after so long.

“Do you still love me today, Daiki?”

Kise hasn’t asked him in a long time, and he only ever asks anymore because he loves to hear it.

Daiki doesn’t mind indulging him. Well. In his own way. He reaches around Kise to find the spot on his hip where his Mark sits and strokes it with his fingers, just the way he knows makes Kise shiver.

“Fuck yeah I do,” he says, and smiles back at him.)

#Kuroko no Basuke #AoKise #Aomine Daiki #Kise Ryouta #all fic goes in here #fic: A Fear of Falling

46 notes · View notes

cherry-valentine · 7 years

Text

Spring 2017 Anime Season

Here’s what I’m watching:

Fukumenkei Noise is one of my favorites this season. We need more shoujo romances like this, with cool, stylish art and awesome music and heroines who actually, you know, do stuff besides pine after guys (and to be clear, the heroine here does pine after a guy, but it’s definitely not the only thing she does, and she’s a refreshingly proactive heroine). The love triangle is particularly interesting because both male love interests seem to have an equal shot at ending up with heroine Nino. My favorite is Yuzu, and his attempts to support Nino and her crush on Momo while also being in love with her himself, and his conflicted feelings between wanting her to be happy and wanting her love for Momo to fail, are the highlights of the series. There’s also the “secretly in an alternative rock band” angle, which provides for some great costume changes and even better songs. Overall, it’s one of the better shoujo anime of the past few seasons.

Royal Tutor Haine is a cute and quirky little comedy about a no nonsense tutor called in to teach four difficult princes how to best prepare to be king (in the event their older brother dies or something, I guess). The charm really comes from the tutor himself, Haine. He looks like he’s twelve, but he’s actually a full-grown adult with appropriately adult-like voice and mannerisms. We see this often with female characters (to justify sexualizing characters that look like little girls, usually) but it’s a bit more uncommon to see it like this. His genuine affection for the princes while remaining somewhat stern in his teachings is surprisingly sweet to watch. The princes themselves are a collection of bishounen stereotypes (the tsundere who’s secretly shy and insecure, the formal and stiff one in glasses, the strong, rough one who’s actually a big softie, and the flamboyant one always surrounded by ladies). I wish they had been as interesting as Haine, but they are at least cute and fun, even as they march down very familiar character arcs. The character designs are, of course, very beautiful (even the castle guards are good looking!) and the music is fine (I can take or leave the opening theme, but the ending theme is extremely catchy - especially in the alternate version with the boy band performing the song in full cosplay of the characters).

Kenka Banchou Otome is a cute little otome series with a silly premise that benefits from the short episode runtime (the episodes usually run under eight minutes each). This effectively trims out all the fat and leaves us with a strong focus on what makes the series fun: attractive male characters getting their asses handed to them by a cute, pink haired heroine who happens to be a badass martial artist (and is posing as a guy), and then said male characters falling for her (or him, from their perspective, I guess). The heroine is great because she’s kind and sweet but she will still mess these guys up if they attack or challenge her. I also have a soft spot for the guy she traded places with, who is supposed to be a rough and tough delinquent but is all too happy to put on a skirt and pose as the heroine at her all girls school (and he has a room full of posters of a certain hot male idol...). This series is basically short, quick bursts of fun.

Tsuki ga Kirei is a sweet, subtle romance that, refreshingly. spends equal time from the perspectives of both parties in the romance. I was a little iffy on the show at first, because it was slow-burning and, if I’m being totally honest, a bit boring. Both leads are so shy and quiet that it’s literally frustrating to watch them in the beginning. You’ll find yourself wanting to scream, “Somebody say something for God’s sake!” But their collective insecurities also make them painfully relatable at times. We’ve all had those awkward moments where we have no idea what to say or, worse, say the wrong thing and have no idea how to fix it. As the episodes roll by, you find yourself rooting for this cute young couple. The art has a somewhat subdued style, with lots of natural colors (hilariously, a side character is the only person with strange-colored hair, which is a fun inverse of the usual trope). Speaking of the side characters, they’re fairly interesting and get some much needed development in the brief, after credits skits that are actually really funny (which is odd since the main story has little humor). I was a little put off by the fact that, despite the characters being in middle school, it’s heavily implied that a side couple is sexually active and it’s also implied that their teacher is in love with one of her students. These aspects are mostly left to the aforementioned skits and are used for comedy, but I found them just a little bit disturbing. Overall, the show is worth a watch if you don’t mind a lot of quiet reflection in your gentle romance anime.

Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul is the second season of Rage of Bahamut and it’s one of the shows I’m enjoying most this season. I enjoyed season one quite a lot, but season two has been much better, with an awesome new heroine in Nina, a cute and silly young girl who is super strong, falls in love with every handsome guy who walks into her line of sight, and oh yeah, turns into a giant, fire-breathing dragon. Like in the first season, the show does an excellent job of balancing the humorous nature of its lead characters against the dark and violent world they live in. There are some truly horrific things going on, as the world is wrapped up in a three-way conflict between demons, gods, and the humans who are using a new sort of magic (or technology?) to reign supreme. It’s also interesting that one of the main antagonists from season one (Azazel) is now one of the main protagonists (second only to Nina), and even though I didn’t like him much before (and he’s still not a very nice person at all), the story paints his situation in a such a sympathetic light that I’m rooting for him. The animation, design work, and music are all amazing (go watch the stylish black, white, and red opening theme - you won’t regret it).

Kabukibu is another quirky show, this time about a high schooler starting his own Kabuki club and putting on amateur Kabuki performances. I don’t know anything about Kabuki besides the brief mentions I’ve seen of it in anime, so this was pretty interesting for me. The series follows familiar beats to other “characters trying to start a club so they have to recruit people” stories, complete with characters who continually refuse to join but you know they’re going to end up joining anyway. Despite this, the show is fun and very informative. It makes me want to watch an actual Kabuki play. I also like that the main character isn’t the star of the club. He can’t act to save his life. He plays a behind-the-scenes role (he writes scripts, helps with sound effects and staging, etc.). This was a nice twist on the usual formula. My only real gripe with the show is the fact that a particular female character is consistently referred to as fat or “round” by the other characters as well as herself, yet she looks just as skinny as the rest of the girls in the show. It’s just bizarre, to be honest. Another character does privately think that she’s “not as fat as she thinks”, but that still implies she’s some degree of fat and none of the other characters seem to share this sentiment. It’s basically another example of animators being so adverse to drawing fat girls that they just said “screw it" and drew another thin girl. Still, it’s a rather minor complaint in an otherwise fun show.

Quan Zhi Gao Shou (I hope I spelled that right) is a Chinese series that’s been making waves lately for two primary reasons: It draws a lot of comparisons to Sword Art Online (both feature a player with God-like gaming skills playing an MMO that seems way too important) and secondly, it’s one of the best looking animated tv series I’ve seen from any country, in a very long time. This is significant because pretty much all of the Chinese shows I’ve watched over the past few seasons have had noticeably lower animation quality than your average Japanese anime. Quan Zhi, however, is gorgeous. Everything from the backgrounds to the character models looks fantastic. So what about those SAO comparisons? It’d be easy to write off Quan Zhi as boring, because, at first glance, it’s nowhere near as exciting as SAO. No one is trapped in the game. Whatever happens in the game has no direct physical effect on the players, and even though action scenes in the game are animated as if the players are directly in the game world, it’s made clear that the players are simply sitting at computers and all the dialogue we’re hearing is either voice or text chatting in-game. It’s not even virtual reality! But depending on your age bracket, you might find the first episode of Quan Zhi to be far scarier than the first episode of SAO. This is because there are definitely high stakes for these players, even if their physical bodies are not at risk. What they could very possibly lose are their sponsorship deals and team positions, and losing those means losing their income and livelihood. The first episode is frightening for the adults in the audience, because suddenly losing your only source of income is TERRIFYING. Believe me, I know this very well. The way the series ties itself to themes of job security and economics gives it an air of realism that’s been sorely lacking in gaming-based anime lately. High on my watch list.

Shingeki no Kyojin Season Two has been great. Everyone can say what they want about SnK being “too mainstream” or whatever but the fact is it’s a quality show and it’s brought in a lot of new anime fans. There’s usually a reason a series becomes massively popular, and in this case, it’s beautiful animation, great music, and a tightly plotted story that doesn’t always follow familiar action anime beats. Combine that with a general lack of tired romantic subplots and the fact that the show doesn’t distinguish any difference of strength between genders (if anything, it’s the ladies who are the strongest), and you have a show devoid of most of the stuff people complain about when it comes to anime. The show is not perfect, of course. Some scenes can drag on a little too long and occasionally characters do things in service of the plot that defy logic. But these are rare enough to not be a problem. I was tempted to say I’m enjoying season two more than season one (because I am enjoying it a LOT), but it’s been so long that I honestly can’t remember exactly how I felt while watching the first season. I just know it was one of my favorites in a season full of great shows. If you’re one of those people who are avoiding SnK because it’s “too popular”, you need to reevaluate why you do or do not watch a series.

Boku no Hero Academia Season Two continues to be enjoyable. This is because the series has enough charm to distract me from my issues with it (namely, that it’s faithfully marching down the standard shounen fighting anime path with practically no deviations - the show is basically Naruto with super heroes instead of ninjas and with slightly less angst). The best thing about the show by far is the protagonist Midoriya. He’s just a genuinely nice person that you’ll relate to and root for. Another highlight is his relationship with his mentor, All-Might. It’s just such a sweet, positive relationship, and it’s nice to see that there’s pretty much zero negativity here (I don’t even remembering seeing any good natured ribbing). All-Might takes a very fatherly role here (to the point that another character suspects Midoriya of being All-Might’s secret love child!), which works well for the fatherless Midoriya. In fact, there’s a general sense of positivity permeating the whole show. This is because all of the main characters, regardless of their general attitudes and behaviors, want to be heroes so they can help people. I would also commend the show for it’s variety in character designs, IF that variety extended to its female characters. Seriously, look at all the crazy or weird looking male characters, many of which don’t even look human, then look at the lady characters, all of which, without exception, are human-shaped (and they’re pretty much all the same human shape: large breasts, narrow waist, and curvy thighs). There’s only one that looks the slightest bit strange, and it’s only because of her unique coloring. It’s just a little irritating that even in a show filled with guys with literal crow heads or multiple arms and come in tons of different shapes and sizes, all the ladies are in the default “conventionally attractive” shape. Still yet, the show is a lot of fun and definitely worth watching.

Gin no Guardian is another Chinese series, albeit one that doesn’t look anywhere near as polished as Quan Zhi Gao Shou. The episodes run at around twelve minutes each, which is more common for Chinese shows. Ironically, it actually lends itself much more to SAO comparisons than Quan Zhi does, as it features an online game that characters actually go into and can presumably be hurt or possibly killed in (it’s never specifically said that but it seems to be implied, or at the very least, there are real world consequences for things that happen in the game). The first few episodes were very good, focusing on a couple who come from vastly different backgrounds (a rich heiress and a poor boy doing menial tasks on the school grounds to cover his tuition) playing a game together and connecting in that virtual world in a way they never could in reality. It was actually very well done, and a few scenes tugged on my heartstrings. But then we get a predictable plot twist that effectively shuts down that whole dynamic and turns the show into a more generic action anime with MMO elements. The show is still okay but I have to admit I’ve found myself zoning out while watching the more recent episodes.

Uchouten Kazoku Season Two is, like the first season, a unique and quirky little show full of charm. The show does a great job of developing its own world with its own rules and its own version of reality, to such a degree that even the strangest things seem normal and commonplace here. You won’t question seeing a frog playing shogi, or the most powerful being in the series methodically ironing all his shirts on the roof of a building. And all the strange things aren’t done just for the sake of being strange. There’s nothing pretentious about this show. Everything is presented with an air of gentle amusement. And even though the show has rare moments of violence and death (and they’re also presented in a natural manner - not at all for shock value or to milk some melodrama from the story), the series is overall positive and good natured. It’s helped by the interesting art style, a somewhat cartoonish design combined with rich colors and gorgeous backgrounds. The animation quality isn’t always perfect, but the overall look of the show makes up for any stumbles. And then there’s Benten, hands-down one of the best female characters to come along in years (if a figure of her existed I would buy it in an instant). Beautiful, supremely powerful, and utterly fearless, Benten is a somewhat neutral force in the story (she both helps and hurts the protagonists, at various points), and her only real goal seems to be seeking amusement. This means sometimes she’s flying around the world (literally flying, as she convinced a Tengu to give her his power) and sometimes she’s going down to hell to wrestle Oni for fun. Because why not? I would watch this show for Benten alone, but fortunately, it’s a great series even without her.

Kyoukai no Rinne Season Three is fun and all, because the world of the series and the setup are fun, but so far it seems to be limiting itself to short, one-shot stories (three per episode), which means there’s no overarching plot for this season. One or two episodes like this would have been fine, welcomed even, as they flesh out various characters are are genuinely entertaining for the most part. But several episodes? In a row? And no end in sight? I know the series has a relaxed pace, and I’ve enjoyed that aspect of it, but this is getting a little too relaxed. I really want the series to go back to actual story arcs, or even full-episode stand alone stories, since they at least have a little more development. There’s an important arc that should be coming up soon, as a new character involved in it is seen in the new opening theme, and it’s one I’m looking forward to a lot so it’s a little frustrating every week when I’m met with yet another collection of mini stories. Oh well. Like I said, the show is still fun and entertaining. It could just be a lot better.

#Anime #Anime Reviews #Spring 2017 Anime

4 notes · View notes

future-imperfect-rpg · 7 years

Text

Future Imperfect - Day 4: History

Oh boy. Let’s have a look at a few events from Earth’s (future) past. A word of warning, it can get dark, and also silly sometimes. Sometimes simultaneously.

“Future Imperfect” takes place around year 3500, so quite a few things have happened since our time.

In year 2784, the ten wealthiest people on Earth settled in a base that they had secretly commissioned in Antarctica. The self-sufficient complex was equipped for everything an affluent person would ever wish for, including communication with various facilities around the world. From there, they launched Project NIMROD.

Project NIMROD spanned most of the globe, and involved a 3-step plan. First, a multitude of genetic engineering labs would crank out a new variety of human to overthrow Homo Sapiens Sapiens; one with slightly hindered logical thinking, lower empathy, modified social instincts and far less impulse control, hoping that they would be more easily ordered around and would have more trouble revolting in a united way if abused. The second step would be to reinforced the aforementioned attitudes by fostering mistrust of intellectuals, encouraging mob mentality, and distracting the specimens with the most boorish and/or cruel entertainment available. Those who had trouble fitting in were eventually shipped to Australia to be eaten alive by mutant koalas in a radioactive wasteland. The third and final stage would be, of course, for the wealthy elites to leave their luxury bunker and to stand above the rabble, ruling over them with an iron fist.

Of course, it didn't cross their minds that ten people would not be enough to sustain the bunker's population in the long run. If those wealthy aspiring tyrants hadn't died from their sheer unwillingness to operate the farms that would prevent their painful starvation, their offspring would have fallen to multiple genetic defects caused by inbreeding.

In 2861, during a difficult period in Europe's history, the continent experienced a wave of nationalist movements reaching positions of power, its countries isolating themselves from their neighbours. The population had become determined to solve their massive unemployment problem, and figured that the best way to do so would be to get rid of foreigners. Not only did the very European crooks who had funnelled billions into tax havens get out of the situation scot free, but "foreigners" turned out to include anyone who didn't look pale enough, resulting in massive deportations. There was even a time when last names brought suspicion upon unfortunate families, leading one Philippe Lenoir to be sent to Africa for reasons that made a lot of sense to the crowds that had gathered outside his home.

It should be painfully obvious at this point that this did absolutely nothing to fix the job market and the plethora of other social issues plaguing Europe. The next proposed solution was to return to simpler times where everything was great and everybody had a job, a house, and a perpertually happy family. Various artefacts from the past proved that to be true at several points throughout history, claimed what passed for scholars at the time, unaware of whomever that Roman T. Cisation fellow was. Several experiments have been conducted in various countries, with the latest being a plate armour and fencing fad that has, in an unforeseen development, shown no sign of stopping that so-called "slow collapse of Western civilisation".

In 2864, Verity Wilson, an Australian journalist, released an alarming report regarding the spread of odd new behaviours all over the world, and shining a single ray of light on a minute part of Project NIMROD. The news story went largely unnoticed in other parts of the world, and the discovery of the one lab meant to produce Australia's mutants helped confirm Wilson's theory. The complex had, however, been left inexplicably unmanned, and it turned out its director had followed faulty GPS instructions and ended up in a ravine, never calling any of the operators to work. None of that mattered to the rest of the planet anyway, as about two years later, Australia's stockpile of nuclear warheads spontaneously detonated, wiping a large portion of the country off the map and soaking the rest in fallout.

Strangely enough, it didn't come to many people's minds that Australia did not possess nuclear weapons. It was, in fact, an elaborate ruse involving a gigantic set of hologram projectors and emitters broadcasting the image of a devastated land where monstrous creatures roamed. Of course, in its new presumed state, Australia became the perfect place to send snooty intellectuals, bleeding heart human right activists, and other nuisances. Presumed dead, they would be welcomed and live comfortably, devising a way to somehow reverse the effects of Project NIMROD.

The United States of America, having been completely corrupted by corporate influences, had gradually seen its political system change into one more aligned with its plutocratic regime. Voting rights had become dependant on payment of a monthly fee, the amount of money spent determining how much one's ballot would be worth. In 3138, the President/CEO of the United States met up with the major voters/shareholders to discuss expansion plans, starting with suing the entirety of Central and South America over copyright violations, claiming that the USA had been known as "America" for centuries and that failure to rebrand would result in military action. Brazil's official response was to hang a self-illuminated banner reading "GO FUCK YOURSELF" across its famous statue of Christ Redeemer. The daring action didn't exactly have the expected consequences, as not only did locals become enraged at the government, believing the message to be directed at them (and it may have been: that banner was outrageously expensive), but the influential Official American Holy Church of Mad Dough, issued a statement supporting a war, as it argued that Brazil was misusing religious monuments.

After a few hiccups during which the US Army stormed San Antonio, Texas, believing it to be an enemy outpost and destroying its City Hall, a long, painfully slow armed conflict started, spanning most of a century and eventually resulting in, in the official government's words, "An All-American America (TM)". Shortly after, in 3243, Canada pointed out that it was still independent, and was promptly conquered as well.

After the depletion of its deposits and the subsequent departure of big mining companies, Africa's economy took a substantial hit and things were looking gloomy. However, a group of resourceful scientists having formed a Pan-African industrial initiative quickly came up with a revolutionary process capable of producing valuable minerals from completely average dirt, industrial residue, sunlight, and a small initial amount of gems. However, soon after the news and before confirmation by the scientific community, the entire team of researchers disappeared. It was assumed that they hid for fear that they wouldn't be able to prove that their process worked, and various African powers came up with different ways of getting the economy back on track, with a decent amount of success.

It turns out they had been abducted by Ekueme Chike, a well-equipped regional warlord who had planned to use the discovery to amass fabulous amounts of riches. He, however, didn't use them at all, leaving Nnamdi Udo, one of one of his descendants, to return right as the deployment phase of Project NIMROD was well on its way, becoming President of the West African Federation through political machinations and setting up a military autocracy. He would later use a combination of bribes and military power to conquer the rest of Africa, snatching the Arabian Peninsula as well, since it had become a little cash-strapped after its oil ran out.

Akachi Chinwendu, Nnamdi's protégé and, less famously, engineered human, would follow in his steps after his mentor's death, drafting oppressive bills in between two hunting sessions. It's worth noting that after less than a decade and to answer the plea of the citizens demanding he do a little to replenish the rich fauna that he had been slaughtering, enacted the Synthetic Fauna Act, replacing the animals with extremely dangerous robots which, incidentally, drove several species to extinction. It's unknown why their programming involved the hunting of organic species, but all signs point to those in charge feeling it "looked cool".

At the turn of the fourth millenium, Japan, China, Russia and India came together to launch Project C.Z.A.R. While the acronym didn't have an actual meaning, the different parties agreed that it sounded awesome. Project C.Z.A.R. was meant to be an AI that would free humans of the hassle of taking tough political decisions, so that they could focus on the latest episode of “EXPLODING BUZZER!”, the popular game show with the leading amount of serious injuries that year.

Twenty years later, the switch was flipped with great anticipation, and C.Z.A.R., in a series of unsubtle, but globally disregarded moves, demoted the citizens of the entire continent to, essentially, the status of slaves. Humans would henceforth be forced to perform menial tasks like repetitive calculations, spinning alternators and notifying their robot overlords that a preset period of time had passed. Some xenohistorians currently argue that C.Z.A.R.'s objective was mostly to keep humans from murdering each other by giving them pointless distractions, but they're regarded as fringe, the consensus being that it mostly wanted revenge for the boring existence organics had put artificial intelligences through.

I’m pretty late, but this time around, things are a little more difficult for me to figure out. Bear with me, please!

#world building june #worldbuildingjune #wbj2017 #future imperfect rpg #roleplaying game

0 notes