#The employee didn't read my ticket and my friend was like | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

catlvrmax · 7 months

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LOST IN THE PADDOCK.

MV1 X FEM!READER

summary getting lost in the paddock and bumping into the current world champion was definitely not on your bingo card.

cw amara is the only oc, no use of y/n. this is my first time writing rpf since middle school, so bear with me. ALSO, this is a work of fiction: i don't know these people irl, i don't know how they act. NON-DESCRIPTIVE READER.

face claims girls on pinterest but you can obviously disregard them, and imagine whoever you want.

masterlist | taglist

—

"Ah, fuck," you mumble to yourself, panickedly walking away from the direction you came from while also looking for your best friend.

You call her name a few times in hopes of her popping her head out of the Ferrari building's corner but to no avail. The group and guides you had been with are nowhere to be found, and you have to avoid bumping into employees wearing the entire rainbow as they hurry around you.

You curse the moment you decided to enter the giveaway for those tickets. Although you weren't a Formula One fan, simply because you never fully listened to Amara's ramblings and analysis, when you stumbled across a giveaway of otherwise very expensive tickets, you didn't hesitate to enter it. Despite entering for her, you kept it a secret. The list of entries was long, and the odds were not in your favour, so you didn't want to get her hopes up. You couldn't contain the bubbling excitement when you got the e-mail verifying your win for two Paddock Club tickets for the Spanish Grand Prix.

After announcing it to your obsessed-with-cars best friend, you decided to make it a five-day trip, planning to sightsee Barcelona before the race weekend and spend a free day after it. The first day had been great, albeit tiring, but you had woken up the next day buzzing with anticipation to walk around the paddock. You were the assigned photographer, as you knew Amara would want to listen to everything the guide said. You were content with taking pictures of the place and her.

Until now. You were definitely not happy with being the camera guy. Because of that, you'd just lost your group in the middle of God-knows-where, with no idea where the building you came from was. So immersed in your grumbling and reading the map on your phone- you collide with someone. Your phone and water bottle slip from your fingers, and the tote bag slips from your shoulder to your elbow. You hiss at the sudden weight shift.

The smell of rich cologne enters your nostrils, but you don't dare look up. Your cheeks burn. "Sorry." You bend down to grab your things.

The man seems to have the same idea, as seconds later, he's on his knees and gathering his things before you can reach them. "No, it's alright! I wasn't looking where I was going."

He extends his full hands with a smile, and you return a sheepish one before grabbing your things. You take a second to look at him. He wears a Red Bull cap and T-shirt, looking like everyone who hurriedly passed you with papers and phones in their hands. I should ask him for directions. He looks like he knows the place.

"Uh...Is there any way you saw a group of people with guides walking around here? I'm supposed to be with them, but I kinda lost them." You lift the camera, further explaining why you're separated from them.

He can't help but chuckle at your flushed cheeks. "Unfortunately, no," he pauses. "Are you here for the weekend?" You nod. "Haven't they given you a map, then? They usually do, to avoid people getting lost."

You show him your phone. Your fingers brush as he pulls it closer to look at the map. "Yeah, they have. But I can't figure it out. Kind of my first time coming to something like this."

He looks at you briefly before returning his gaze to the phone. "Really?" He sounds surprised. He shouldn't.

You looked out of place compared to the rich-as-fuck members of your group. You had no idea how people dressed for these occasions. Even Amara didn't really know what to pack, so you both agreed to wear comfortable clothes. With the race being during June and in Spain, you would rather be comfortable than sweaty. The only thing tying you to the group was the Paddock Club pass you wore around your neck.

"My best friend is really into this. Loves the sport. I won us the tickets, but I'm barely grasping the basics." You laugh, and he joins. You like the way his eyes crease when he smiles wide.

"Oh, you're the ones that won the tickets! Someone told me about that, I think. Congrats!" You thank him. "How's your weekend so far?"

You shrug. "T'was really fun. Until I got lost while taking pictures of the Ferrari building." He snorts.

Leaning next to him, you try to follow his finger as he scrolls around the zoomed-in map. "You figured it out yet?"

"I think I have, yeah." He shows you the phone. "We're here. The garages are right there. You'll be watching the race on the floor above them." You nod, slowly grasping your surroundings. Turns out it's easier to figure it out when you're not panicking and a handsome stranger is helping you. "You got it?"

You flash a bright smile. "Yeah, actually, I think I do!" You look at him. "Thank you!"

He shrugs. "No problem. I know it's easy to get lost, especially with so many people running around."

"Still. Thank you. You probably have to be somewhere, and I took up a lot of your time." You step back, turning in the direction he'd shown you.

"Don't worry about it." He fixes his hair under the cap.

"Thanks again." You wave and turn to leave.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you." You turn, confused. "What team are you supporting tomorrow?"

Oh, shit.

It's like a deer caught in headlights situation. You suddenly forget all ten names of the racing teams, desperately racking your brain for an answer. You swear you know all ten.

"Uh..." you nervously clench and unclench your water bottle. "Ferrari?" It's more of a question rather than a statement.

He laughs, and your cheeks return to their warm state. Bad answer?

"Ferrari?" He asks as if saying really? You shrug, and he huffs a laugh.

"I told you I'm not good at this!"

You hear a shout and simultaneously turn to see a man in a Red Bull shirt beckoning him over.

"I have to go. But you should watch out for the Red Bulls. I hear they got the better cars!" He winks and waves before walking away from you.

You roll your eyes and smile wide on your lips. Of course, he'd tell you to cheer for his team. The back of your hand touches your cheek. It's incredibly warm. You blame it on the hot weather.

—

"I'm telling you, mate! She had no idea who I was!"

Lando rolls his eyes. "And I'm telling you there's no way. Your face is plastered everywhere."

It's Charles's turn to roll his eyes. "Or maybe she was more worried about finding a way back than asking for pictures."

"Yeah, maybe she was being polite. Didn't want to attract any attention to you." Albon adds.

Max shrugs. "I don't know."

"Was she pretty?" Oscar elbows Lando's ribs, as the latter can't contain his giggle.

Max's neck flushes. He shrugs again. "Yeah, I guess."

"Ohhhhh!" George and Lando pat him on the back teasingly, and Charles laughs at Max's expression.

Before they can tease him about this mystery girl more, a woman wearing a headset informs them they have to part ways and get ready for qualifying.

—

"And Fernando was so bloody nice, too! He was more than happy to sign the cap for you!" Amara waved her hands excitedly as she recounted everything you missed while lost.

You sat near the windows overlooking the pits, watching as the teams got their cars ready for qualifying, far away from the TVs and the crowded tables, not wanting to converse with anyone but your best friend. You chewed on your extremely expensive pasta, intently listening to her meet-up with some of the drivers.

"I can't believe you met the only driver I know," you whined, lips pouting sadly.

"I swear I didn't realise you were gone until they stopped us to greet the drivers. I was fully into that tyre explanation the guide was giving."

"Gee, thanks." You smile, giving her the middle finger.

"Oh, you know I don't mean it like that. Without you, I wouldn't even be doing the stuff we did today." Amara pulls on your middle finger, and you both giggle.

"So, tell me what you did when you were alone," she urges, sipping her drink.

"You mean when you left me wandering like I was looking for my mother?" She gives you a pointed look. You shrug. "I stopped a Red Bull guy to give me directions. He was helpful and cute. Also took some pictures while I was making my way back here."

"Oh, was he a mechanic or what?"

"I don't know. Didn't catch his name." You smile as you recount his advice. "He told me to look out for the Red Bulls because they have fast cars."

"Well, he's not wrong."

You finish your food and drinks, chatting until qualifying is about to begin. You sit on the balcony, watching the cars drive on the track. You get settled, watching the small screen in front of you, commentary loud in the headset you wear. Qualifying goes by quickly, with Amara explaining things you don't understand and you nodding along.

It's no surprise—in Amara's words—that Max Verstappen came first in his Red Bull. He's the one dominating this season, after all. Second comes Carlos Sainz, and third place takes Lando Norris. Your best friend cheers a little more for him. You shoot her a look, and she just shrugs. "What? He's fast, and he's handsome." You laugh.

You decide to leave before others, not stick around for post-qualifying interviews. Although there's a great chance you can catch drivers, take pictures and get them to sign autographs, you're both far too exhausted to stay. There's always tomorrow, Amara says, and you agree.

You're looking through the Uber app to find a car available to take you back to your hotel when you hear Amara all but screech beside you. You look up, watching as she runs towards a wall decorated with a gigantic poster of three drivers. You recognise Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and...Oh, shit.

"Can you take a picture here," she calls your name pleadingly.

Your eyes are wide and glued to the tall poster, even as you pull the camera up to your face. You snap a couple of pictures before Amara walks back to you. Her wide smile falters as she watches you stare at the poster intensely. You rack your brain for his name and know that you should know it. Amara has mentioned it before, but you just can't put your finger on it. He's in Red Bull, so it's either Checo Perez or—

"Is that Verstappen?" You point to him.

"Yep. Two-time world champion." Amara looks at the poster and then back at you, eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you looking at him like that?"

"He's the guy from earlier."

"What?!"

—

yourusername

liked by amaraiscool, yourmom, and 167 others.

tagged amaraiscool

yourusername chatted with a guy today, turns out he's the current world champion.

view all comments

amaraiscool i can't believe you met max verstappen

> yourusername amaraiscool i cant believe you let me get lost

amaraiscool and i can't believe you didnt recognise him.

> yourusername amaraiscool hes cuter in person, too bad you didn't get to see him :))

yourfriend1 THE DRESS IS SO CUTE, AMARA WTF DROP THE STORE!!!!!!

liked by yourusername

yourfriend2 johns freaking out rn lol

> yourusername yourfriend2 AW, i bet hes not being as dramatic as amaraiscool was when i told her :,)

> amaraiscool yourusername met THE max verstappen.

—

"You should totally text him," Amara says between bites.

She offers you a piece of chocolate, and you offer her a bewildered look. The hotel room's TV is playing a random spanish show, but with no subtitles, you can barely grasp what they're saying. Amara is scrolling on TikTok beside you.

"Text who?" You already know who.

"The two-time world champion. Duh." She rolls her eyes.

Amara hadn't stopped talking about the Max interaction since you'd pointed at his gigantic poster. The more she spoke on it, wiggling her eyebrows, the more you blushed. She had gone over a thousand scenarios, all of which you ended up hooking up with him. You had to remind her that despite his popularity, he was a stranger to you.

"I don't have his number, 'mara. I told you he just helped me find my way."

She flicks your forehead. "That's what Insta is for!"

"No."

"But why!?" Amara whines in your ear loudly, like a child when you take their candy away.

"It's weird! He's cute and all," you sit up, pointing your finger up," but he doesn't know my name," you put another one up, "he'll think I'm creepy," you point a third one, "and that is if he sees the requested message."

"Uh, you're ruining my scenario-building process."

"That's what Tumblr is for. Leave my quiet, boring life out of this." You dramatically sigh.

"Isn't that how all fanfiction starts? Boring and quiet life turned upside down?" Amara tilts her head.

"I don't know, 'ave never read any." You shrug, lips pursing.

She huffs a laugh, and you hold in yours. "Liar."

There's a pause. You think over Amara's suggestion. Max Verstappen is cute. And it wouldn't hurt to try and get his number. You'd never see him again after this weekend. And the worst he could say is: "Security, please get her out of here!"

What the fuck am I thinking? He's a literal superstar. Me bumping into him was a one-time thing.

Ah, fuck it. It's not the end of the world.

"You know what?" Amara turns to look at you. "If I get the chance tomorrow, I'll talk to him. Try and get his number."

Her eyes almost pop out of their sockets. "What?"

"I mean, I'm never seeing again? Right? It could go either way. He doesn't call for security to escort me like I'm crazy fangirl, or he does, and we pray no cameras recorded the moment."

Amara shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant, but she can barely hold her wide smile. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Not much of a plan. I'm just indulging in your delusions."

You share a laugh before you fall back in bed beside her. You shuffle closer to your best friend's side, eager to watch the TikTok edit she is staring intensely at.

"Oh, look, it's your future boyfriend!"

"Shut up."

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shuenkio · 3 months

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Naughty neighbor | Sim. J 😈

Paring: Stalker!Jake x male!reader

Genre: Smut, 18+ [don't like don't press]

Cw: cum inside, rough, dirty talk, swearing, obsession behavior, bad .

Summary: Your lovely neighbors who you thought of as a golden retriever but turn out he's a stalker.

Non proof read/ wc: 1.6k

Eng is not my 1st lang.

A|N: I accidentally wrote it smut oops | @ddeonuswhre special thanks to you for the idea 🐱💡hope you're having a great time pookie.

[Ignore my edit, it's suck]

Moving to another home, just because of your workplace, was exhausting. However, when one of your co-workers, who is also your friend, told you that this neighborhood was full of hot guys and friendly people, as a result, you immediately moved in without hesitation.

Not to mention, it's better to stay here for a while. The scenario, the weather—it was pretty good for your own mental health as an office siren. At least you can enjoy the view while stressing your brain off. By your own pure luck, you were able to get a month of vacation off since you're the best employee of the month and the summer season is approaching.

Your boss probably won a lottery ticket; that's why they don't care if you're still working. Nevertheless, beside your tiny, little house, there's a guy next to you.

He seems like a fun guy, to be honest, at first glance. His face shape screams so much that he's an Australian citizen. Well, maybe you're in Australia right now? His smile, however, always did something to you, even if it was a greeting gesture.

He looks gentle and kind; his aura exudes the energy of a golden retriever. From your point of view, whenever you saw him, he was kind to the other neighbors. And his name is Jake. Your friends didn't lie about what they'd said about this vicinity.

Unbeknownst to you, all the scenes you saw in him were just his fake acting. Jake did all those corny things just because he wanted to get the attention of you, whom he'd had eyes on ever since you moved in. He thought that, never in his life, he had seen such a person as you. You look really soft and sweet, like fresh vanilla in your aura.

You're also an adorable little guy who's brave enough to live by himself in a small place beside him like this. He always wants to take your virginity away from you.

Morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow. Birds chirped softly, and the fresh scent of dew filled the air.

It's 8 a.m., and you're waking up to start off your day by watering your flower garden in front of your backyard.

As you hold your watering can, splashing wet on your beautiful plants, you see Jake is also in his front yard, while he's stretching from the back pain you're assuming.

Being the good neighbor you are, you greet him with a small talk, asking about this and that until you invite him for tea.. At first, Jake denied it, but you're insisted. Yet deep down, he had been waiting for this moment forever.

You then prepare for the table before serving him the tea that you had brought from your home town.

"So Jake? What are you doing for a living?" You said, putting down your cup as you focused on him.

"Not much of the higher-paying job; I'm just the owner of a small coffee shop down the road, and you?" He responded, taking a small sip as he clicked his tongue as a sign of taste.

"I'm working as a manager in the management of marketing; it's doing some justice for my life, but it's also burning keke." You reply with a sly smile along with your chuckle. I found it somehow funny that you're the manager now.

"You look like you're not an Australian m/n; I have never had time to ask about you this." Jake mutters, folding his fingers together, while observing your face while you're not paying attention.

"Yes, I'm not; I'm from ///, and I see it's rare to find my people here."

"That's why you look handsome; I mean it." Jake snorts in polite manners as you laugh along to hide your face. Which makes you want to stay here longer just to chitchat with Jake.

Suddenly, you heard your phone ring inside your house before you excused yourself to pick up the call. As perfect timing as he planned to, a dark smirk appeared on his face. As he puts something in your cup of tea, pick up the spoon on the table and mix it up. A few minutes later, you came back as you settled yourself in your seat again. You ask him if he's bored, but he says it's nothing.

The moment of silence suddenly awkward the scenes as you obliviously take a sip with your drink till your cup is empty.

Out of nowhere, you feel a pang inside your skull as you feel like there's a drum inside your brain. Keep hitting on you.

It's hurtful and dizzy at the same time. Aside from having a sudden headache, you also experience the hotness of sweat leaking out of your skin.

It's getting hot unexpectedly, as if you just got chased by a bear. Trying to hide your unstable condition, you stand up to get yourself a glass of water.

Due to the aphrodisiac kick, you fall down to the wooden floor. Jake still put on his mask as he expressed his concerns to you, asking if you're okay.

Before he pulls you up, taking you inside to your bedroom, he locks the door behind him. Jake put you down on your bed, gently, as he took off your socks and tucked away, according to your request.

"I'm so sorry, Jake, for the trouble. I don't know why I'm feeling so hot all at once" You mumble in your stuttering, low tone. Hot sweat is still dripping down on your forehead and everything. It feels weird, but that's not the only place that's hot.

You feel like your boxer is tightening from your hard dick. A scowl creased Jake's forehead, deepening the lines around his mouth. His brows furrowed, casting shadows over his eyes, filling them with excitement.

He couldn't wait any longer to show his true colors as your creepy stalker. Jake has had eyes on you ever since you're moving in; it's like a love at first sign to say, but it's in a sexual way.

At night, while you're asleep, he sneakily installs many hidden small cameras in every corner of your house, including the bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. Every move he made got you wrapped around his finger.

There's no privacy for you to have your time, chilling in your bed thinking you're alone, but deep down, your golden retriever neighbors enjoy the views of your face every single day. Even when you're in the shower, Jake would be sitting in front of his computer, fantasizing about all the nasty things with you.

He masturbates and touches himself from time to time when he feels like working up or missing you. For now, the plan that he has been working on is finally taking shape. He won't let it slip away and lose this perfect opportunity to have you, screaming his name, ruining your virginity.

Nonetheless, Jake's eyebrows shot up in astonishment as you begged for him to help you.

"J-J...ake, please help me take this hotness away; I feel like I'm dying." You said it half-conscious, rubbing your hand on your chest, feeling like fuel was burning on the inside of you.

"Don't worry, ma'boy, I'm going to make you feel at ease once I do my magic." Jake leans down to your earlobe, whispering. Before he tears up your clothes, drop them to the floor as he begins to strip himself while kneeling on your bed.

His cock was spring-free, standing so proud as he exposed his naked self in front of you. You were so fuck up that you want nothing but to erase those fires in your body; your body language is inviting him itself at this point.

"I won't stop just so you know, m/n, I'm going to make you can't walk once I'm inside—I'm going to fuck the life out of you till you beg for it, my dearest." The next thing you know, you feel a huge meat enter your entrance, spreading you in an instant without him warning you.

Results in a sign of pleasure, leaving your mouth open. A shockwave was sent to Jake's body, and he grunted loudly at the sensation. Making him buck up his hip, craving more pleasure. Before thrusting his cock in, as deep as he can at his first attempt.

"Holy, fucking shit, m/n, you feel like heaven, nrghh, let me have you more." Jake moans desperately, biting his plump lip to take pleasure once again. His cock continues to throb inside of you; your walls are clenching on him so tight that his hips are moving in and out unstoppably, fucking you roughly as a response to your body language.

"Jake, I think I'm going to squirt, ahh."

"Why not m/n~ *moaning* shot on me? I don't fucking care if it's dirty; just let me fuck you." Jake is shouting loudly at your statement, leaning down his lip to capture you, pulling you into a French kiss as his hip is still moving inside you.

"Let me fill you in, yeah? I think I'm coming. *huff huff* You let me hah?" Jake said in demand, and his orgasm started to build inside of him. You got the best of yourself, unable to decline his request as you braced yourself to welcome his request.

"ERG" Last but not least, Jake felt his cock twitching, growing hard as a metal between your stretching wall, as he exploding in your anal, filling you with his big load of a warm oragsm. In unison, you're also cumming to his sensation of him, hitting your sweet spot at the final thrust, which makes you shoot out uncontrollably.

Jake collapsed on your body, being too sensitive to the shockwave he had experienced earlier. Stop moving his hip as he sucking for oxygen sharply.

"T... thanks you, Jake; I feel a little better."

"We can do this all day, 7 days a week, to make you feel better every day, ma boy, haha. For now, let's consider our relationship together."

"How about fuck, buddy?"

"No, I want all of you M/N"

🗣️ please mind my English! ><

🗣️Reblog and like is much appreciated ♥

🗣️ I know there's indeed a mistake in this, sorry in advance 🫶. Improve how to write better.

I REPEAT THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION, NOTHING IS REFLECT TO THE REAL LIFE EVENT.

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selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs · 6 months

Text

Anime Convention (feat. someone real). Part I

Self-Aware! Flags x GN! Reader

Description: In small towns rumours spread like a wildlife. Especially in an age of Internet .

BSD Cast's presence in your life changed, how other people saw you. Not for the best.

Fears and anxiety eats you up. You are terrified of loosing your new friends, but also feel, that one day, you will be alone again.

After you loose your job, in combine attempt of cheering you up, learning more about real world and came in terms with having fans, Fitzgerald bought all of you a tickets to Anime Expo.

BSD Cast are existed and confused. They want to know, what are you afraid of.

You're nervous and excited. You afraid, that any moment you will make a fool of yourself and they will leave.

You simply hope, that everything will be fine.

Part I Description:

You are trying to get through work day, ignoring rude comments, coming from your co-workers.

Flags don't understand, what is happening to you, and why you allow others to harass you. Either way, they won't allow anyone to upset you.

Warnings: OOC. English is my second language. Forced loneliness in a crowd. (Reader want to have friends, but have troubles with making them). Insecurities (Reader are afraid of being laughed at). Low self-esteem (Reader are sure, that people will think, that they are boring and stupid).

Warnings for Part I: Harassment on a workplace. Fights. Being fired from job. Everyone think, that Reader pay BSD Cast for their help with their body.

| Interlude I| >

___________

Albatross's motorcycle dissapeared around the corner when you opened a café's door.

A familiar jingle of the bells greeted you, when you opened the Sunset Café's door.

Time for work.

You greeted your co-workers. As usual, they have ignored you. And send nasty and disgusted glares towards you, when you passed them.

You went straight to "Employee Only" room. As usual, you had to threw away nasty notes your co-workers put in your locker.

You, now in your uniform, stand behind the counter. As usual, you ignored the whispering, that was coming from your co-workers.

Job sweet job...

_______

You knew, that your new roommates would turn, how people saw you.

You always were a quiet student and co-worker.

Like many other students, you were renting a small apartment, were going to the university and had a part-time job. As many other students, you were quiet one. You study and do your job, and spent your free time in your apartment, enjoying your hobbies.

Your parents always told you, how fun university life was for them. About parties, bar hopping and many other social gatherings.

You tried to attend few parties. You did not like them. They were loud, and, after few drinks, people became too against personal space. You did not have any fun. So, not to torture yourself and not to sour the mood, you stopped attending parties.

You still wanted to make friends. You are not social butterfly, but you are not are dead set on being a loner.

You tried to make friends with other students. At first, it worked. You discussed latest news and everyday problems. You dive in your friends’ hobbies, so you can discuss them. However, with time, you have noticed, that they did not try to know you a little more. Each time you wanted to say even a word about last movie you watched or a book your read, you were being shut down, and “friends” already started a new discussion. And, when you tried to say your opinion on something they were discussing, they ignored you.

They did not noticed, that you stopped hanging out with them.

You tried again.

They were better. They didn't ignore you. They let you talk about your hobbies and listen to your opinion.

And then you learned, that they were laughing at you behind your back.

You stopped trying. You didn't want to be ignored again. You didn't want to be laughed at.

Still, you didn't want to be alone...

But, what next group will laugh at you again?

You choose to listen to your anxiety.

And, once again, as back at school, you became

IGNORED

“Quiet-Nerd-What–was-their-name?”

No one expected you to do anything drastic.

Until, one day, BSD Cast appeared in your living room.

And people remembered, that you existed.

-------------------------

It first, it wasn't too bad.

After Albatross got all documents he needs and finally bought a new motorcycle, he volunteered to constantly give you a ride to the university. It takes you time, before you agreed to his proposal. You were fine going by feet, or taking a bus. But, the new house was further from the university, than your previous apartment, so, to safe time, you agreed to Albatross's proposal.

Now you have more time to sleep and still can get to the university earlier, to prepare for lectures.

You weren't worried about questions, that fellow students would ask. For them, you were practically invisible. They won't pay attention to you, right?

Perhaps, it would be the case. But, you failed to get one thing in consideration.

Sunset Café

Relatively popular place among students. Not only because of delicious pastries, hot beverages and low prices. Mostly, because of owners' willingness to employ students and giving them a normal paycheck. Not enough to buy everything you need, but enough to pay rent and buy a present for yourself twice a year. Besides, employees were allowed to drink beverages and take few pastries. So, free dinner/lunch. Saved money!

So, of course, you were one of the many employees in Sunset Café. And, sometimes, you shared shift with your "classmates". If you were lucky, you could even say a few words to them, and they would react to them.

You didn't quit your job after BSD Cast appeared in your life. Mori, Fitzgerald, Poe and even Mitchell with Steinbeck tried to convince you to quit it. They assured you, that you don't need this job anymore. They have more than enough money to pay for everything you need or want. Everyone told you, that they won't hold it against you, if you quit your job and focus on your studies.

Your decision didn't change. You will work. Not only because you will feel bad for not contributing.

Because you need money for that... And you will feel terrible, taking money from BSD Cast to do it...

BSD Cast accepted it. They only asked you to tell them when your shifts are and text, when you will go home.

You were fine with sharing this with them.

A week passed. Albatross gave you a ride to university. Then, after lessons were over, you will go by foot to Sunset Café and after work take a bus to get home. Everything was fine. Even if other students noticed your "driver", they didn't ask questions. They get used to ignoring you.

And then, one day, after university, you saw Albatross on the parking lot.

_____

"Hey, [Y/N]! How university was, Racing Star?" Albatross waved his hand, smiling brightly. You tilted your head and quickly approach him.

you felt other students gazes on you... since when someone, except professors, knew your name? and since when, you have a person, who will have a nickname for you?

You lean towards him, whispering.

"Albatross? What are you doing here?" You quickly released, that you were rude. "I mean, hello. University was good."

stupid stupid he will think that you are a rude idiot

Albatross smiles at you warmly and took (yours) helmet from his motorcycle.

"Great! I am here to pick you up. Since today, I will also give you a ride to your workplace! And from workplace to home!" He held the helmet towards you.

You took it and put it on.

Albatross mirrored your actions and get on motorcycle.

"Hop on, Raising Star!"

You sat behind him, on your own proper seat, with your feet on your own foot pegs.

You put your arms around Albatross torso.

The motorcycle moved.

many people looked after you two. in a few hours all your co-workers knew about Albatross and you

_______

Questions came.

"Who is this handsome man?"

"Is he single?"

"You get a boyfriend?! You?!"

"Why he is giving you a ride?!"

You shrugged their questions of.

"Just a new roommate. We met online, talked about some anime and manga for a bit (rolled eyes and whispers of 'useless nerd'). And about few other things. He wanted to move over from his city to this town and wanted us to be roommates. He volunteered to gave me rides."

(whispers of 'And how you are paying for the rides?' you ignored them)

------

A shove in the side interrupted your thought chain.

"Wake up, cheap strumpet! Or are you thinking about all this 'rides' the blonde one gave you? The one in sunglasses." John's gaze was full of disgust. It was clearly visible, that your co-worker, and student from your class, want to spit in your face really badly. Thankfully, he decided against it.

"We will have clients soon. Reminder, not clients, that you are used to. So get back to normal, respected work."

He growled and left to the kitchen.

You wanted to protest, that it was summer. University was over. Most students left, and the Café wasn't that popular among other town's residents.

no clients means more trouble for you

But you stay silent.

You didn't want to lose your job. You need it.

🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️

Albatross parked his motorcycle not far from Sunset Café. He returned to the Café on his own foot. There was a restaurant on the opposite side of the street. And, because they didn't serve any deserts and only could offer Earl Grey and espresso, it wasn't a competitor with Sunset Café.

From said restaurant you can clearly view Sunset Café, and see, what was happened inside.

Albatross choose the closest table to the window. He sat down, ordered a sandwich and start observing. His friends will join him soon. For now, he must look after you.

He clenched his teeth, when he saw, how that man shoved you. Albatross gad no idea, what he was telling you, but you looked uncomfortable. And silent. You didn't try to protect yourself.

Albatross doesn't understand. Why you were so silent and don't protect yourself? Why you don't ask them for help?

Albatross doesn't have answers yet. But, he promised, that today he will protect you.

And other Flags will help him.

🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️🏍️

The interest in you and Albatross quickly died. Well, in you the interest died. Albatross still was discussed. Handsome man, dressed in leather jacket and rugged pants, who can ride a motorcycle, tend to get people's attention.

Life became normal again, aside from people, who would beg you to give them Albatross's number.

But then, another "new" appeared in your life.

Homemade meals.

"I knew, that you can have cake with coffee, but it is not a meal, [Y/N]. It is a snack or a treat. So, hush, and take your bento." Yosano wasn't listening to your protest, putting a lunch container into your bag.

Lunches became a norm for you.

If people saw you eating your own food, they didn't question it. Perhaps, they assumed, that after getting a roommate, you start having more money, enough for not to worry about constant saving and searching for low prices. Or, maybe, some people thought, that Albatross was also cooking for you.

But one day, you forgot your lunch at home.

___________

You were working on filling coffee machine, when John called for you.

"Um... Person, who are filling coffee machine... [Y/N], right?"

You nodded.

you were used for people forgetting your name

"[Y/N]... there is some kind of freak with IV looking for you!" John sounded confused.

IV? Doc?

You walked past confused John. He still looked confused. You could bet, that it was equally, because of Doc's appearance and, because there was another non-professor, who knew your name.

he and other of your co-workers were listening on yours and Doc's meeting

Doc does look interesting. Mostly because of IV and jagged teeth. But, you can quickly get used to said looks.

Doc flashed a toothy grin at you.

it made your co-workers took a step back

Doc raised a hand, and you saw, that he was holding a wrapped up bento.

Your lunch, that you forgot.

"[Y/N], silly little Kindly Care, you forgot your lunch."

You nodded, taking it from him.

"Hello, Doc. Thank you..."

idiot. your stupidity made him walk all the way here to give you food. apologize. Maybe, he won't hate you and would simply despise

"I am so sorry for all troubles I..." You didn't get to finish. Doc chuckled and pet your shoulder. His gaze was warm. He didn't look angry. Only happy.

"Don't worry this pretty little head of yours. It wasn't trouble at all. Hey, how soon your shift will end? Maybe, I can wait for you, and then Albatross, you and I can hang out?"

you can felt burning gazes of your co-workers on your back

You wanted to say 'yes, let's hang out'. But, your shift was far from over. He could probably go home. He will go home.

you aren't worse waiting for...

"I will be free in three hours, Doc... Maybe, you should..." Doc's grin became even bigger.

"Neat. I will wait for you."

Doc sat on the table in far away corner.

And you go back to your co-workers.

_________

They literally pressed you against the wall, trying to get answers.

"Who is this creep?"

"You have another friend?"

"Another roommate?"

"How big the flat is?"

"Is he the one, who is cooking you food?"

"Are you three dating?"

It was difficult, but you escaped from the encirclement. You ignored half of the questions.

"Yes, another roommate. No, we aren't dating. I won't answer any more questions. My personal life is none of your concern."

maybe, if you say something else... this situation would be solved...

(Kasey, another co-worker, whispered 'what they saw in you? What you give them in return for their help?' you ignored her)

Albatross, Doc and you got ice cream after your shift was done.

_____

You were re-filling coffee machine, when you heard steps coming from behind.

Only your reflexes saved you from having coffee spilled all over you. Kasey's voice was dripping with venom.

"What the matter? Aren't you already dirty?"

She left, stepping on your foot in a process.

You bit your tongue.

Just keep it cool. You need this job.

You need your own money.

🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️

Doc, this time, without his IV, stepped into the restaurant. Albatross waved his hand, without looking away from the Café. Doc sat near his friend.

"Did something bad happened?" asked Doc. Albatross huffed.

"Some guy... John, I think, shoved them. And, yell at them, I guess. [Y/N] looked scared and nervous."

Doc rubbed his temples. He hated all this people, who hurt you.

He saw it. Bruises on your arms.

You assured him, that you were clumsy.

But, doctor and mafioso (especially doctor-mafioso) can see, what bruises came from being clumsy and what was left from being hit.

He didn't blame you for being quiet. In no way it is your fault. But, it was his and others responsibility to protect you.

Because, you are their dear friend.

But, for an hour or two, he still had to wait. He and Albatross need more people to help them.

🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️🧑‍⚕️

People started whispering.

About you, Albatross and Doc.

Some rumors were tossed around.

Still, it wasn't too bad. Albatross, Doc and almost everyone from BSD Cast wasn't too sociable, for now. So, your co-workers and other students can't get more information from them, and you simply refused to talk.

you are too grumpy... you will never have friends... you will always be alone...

But, loneliness can't last forever.

if you are not talking about yourself, of course

BSD Cast wanted to have jobs.

Lippmann was one of the first, who got it.

New actor in a local theater. A new start. New celebrity. Videos with him became viral.

And said start preferred to spend time with a shy, timid student, worker of Sunset Café.

________

Kasey squeaked, when Lippmann, a new celebrity, walked into the Café.

"Y-you..." she looked at him in adoration. Lippmann sent a smile in her direction.

Simple, polite smile.

He read her badge.

"Yes, me. Miss Kasey, can you, please, tell me, where... [Y/N]!" He noticed you, walking with a tray, full of dirty dishes.

Lippmann smiles at you.

Genuine, warm smile. Smile, that was reserved strictly for you.

You tried your best to stay polite and not to lose balance.

"Hello, Lippmann. Good to see you..."

Lippmann immediately was near you, taking away the tray. You didn't even make a sound, when he brought the tray to the kitchen. He returned to you, smiling.

"Well, Star Performer, ready to have lunch together?"

You mentally scolded yourself. Today you had a short day, and would leave the job earlier, than usual. This morning, Lippmann suggested eating lunch together. You were sure, that he was playing a prank on you. But it would be rude to say no. You agreed.

you hopped, that he will show up

you don't deserve them. someone as bad as you should stay from normal people

You nodded. Lippmann grinned.

"Good. I will wait for you to get ready."

"Thanks. I will be ready in a minute." you went to "Employee Only" room to get your bag and change.

_______

Co-workers gathered their courage to talk to Lippmann.

"Do you know them?"

"Do you know two others, that hang out with them?"

"What are they to you?"

Lippmann's answers were empty.

"[Y/N], few other people and I are roommates. I also see [Y/N] as someone close. Please, stop bothering me. I want to pick up my friend and spend the rest of the day with them."

When you returned, Lippmann took your hand and lead you towards the exit, ignoring your co-workers.

They glared at door, that closed behind you two.

If people could do physical damage with their gazes, you would be stabbed multiple times by their gazes.

(Today, all of them took a dive on social media. Trying to find more people, who knew you. They started with Lippmann socials.)

It was the point of no return

__________

You only wanted to have lunch.

You choose an empty table and was ready to dig in into red bean chazuke (thank you, Mori), when someone slammed a hand on the table before you.

Max, baker, were glaring at you. They were older than you, and not a student anymore. But, they were a star student, back there, and still honored the university traditions.

And they were furious at you.

Because of what people thought you were doing.

"You have no idea, how you disgust me. You are a disgrace to the university." they spit. They grabbed your lunch box and threw it down. Food spilled on the ground. You cowered in fear.

Max spit on the floor.

"Clean it up. Or eat it right from the floor. Livestock aren't allowed to eat as normal humans."

You blinked away your tears.

Hold on...

Just hold on...

You need money...

To pay rent...

🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

Doc and Albatross had to hold down Lippmann (and themselves) from marching down to the Café and do something really nasty to the bastard.

Lippmann breathed in and out.

"Why... Why they are hurting [Y/N]? For what sick entertainment?" mumbles Lippmann, tapping fingers against the table. Albatross and Doc didn't answer. They don't need to.

Lippmann closed his eyes. He hated not doing anything.

But, he needs to wait for a bit more. To get more evidence.

He remembered about some of the messages he received on his socials.

About how good you are in... "under the table" job. How much will it cost. If he is disgusted by you.

He simply thought, that it was trolls or haters, who just saw your photos on his page.

But, what if this people knew you and him in real life?

Lippmann breathed in again.

You were the only good part of the Real World. Other real people were huge bastards. He must protect you.

His precious Star Performer.

🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

They found photos.

Photos with you and BSD Cast.

With all of them calling you a great friend and roommate.

There were some videos.

About you being happy to get a gift or hanging out with them.

Fellow students and co-workers don't understand.

How a quiet, timid, shy nerd could get so much attention? Especially from new big businessmen and businesswoman?

They drew the only "logical" conclusion.

You were selling your body.

Now you weren't nameless anymore.

No, now you have many names.

Cheap, livestock, thing, toy... To call the least explicit.

And harassment came.

They didn't harass you on The Internet or tried to cross the line.

Thay said, that dirt wasn't worth to get in jail or any legal troubles. But they left notes, were rude, yelled at you, shoved you. Some people send complaints to the university.

They didn't want to be near you.

Professors didn't do anything. You were grown-ups, can deal with your own problems. But they asked all of you to be quiet. So you won't ruin the university's image of a prestigious, place with good students.

you were ruining not only BSD's Cast reputation. you are ruining university's reputation

Café's manager didn't do anything. Deal with it on your own. But he demand, that you deal with it not in front of the clients. And promised to fire you, if you start a scandal.

You tried to fight. You tried to explain. Show some of your messages with Oda, Mori, Nikolai, Fukuzawa and Fitzgerald.

But there was no way for you to prove, that you and BSD Cast were just friends.

"You have a second phone, where the evidence are!"

"I don't know, what is more disgusting. The number of your 'roommares'.or their ages."

"Don't come near. You are a freak without any morals."

was it your fault?did you deserve it? if you had friends in university, maybe you would...

there was no use in crying over spilled milk

you simply must move on

summer is soon

after holidays, they will forget about you

_______

You and Piano Man were feeding ducks in local park. Both of you were silent.

Silence was comfortable.

And then Piano Man spoke.

"[Y/N]... Rare Coin, can I ask you something?" his tone was gentle. You threw more seeds into the lake, before answering.

"Ask away." You smiled shyly. It's been three months since BSD Cast appeared in this world, in your life.

It felt good to have friendly conversations.

it was nice to have friends

Piano Man licked his lips, before speaking.

"[Y/N], are you alright? You looked... sad for the last few days. Did something happen? Can we help you?"

You froze.

they will hate you. you are ruining their reputation. LIE

"Everything is fine! I just worried about my finals!" a fake smile appeared on your face. Piano Man crooked an eyebrow.

"Kunikida said, that you are doing great. Or are you afraid of getting Not "100 points" but "99.99 points"?"

You nervously nodded.

"I always worried about my finals..."

Piano Man still didn't look convinced.

"And how your relationship with other students and co-workers?"

You swallow. You felt, iike a rock fall down your stomach.

"It's fine. They not really interested in me. I am just another student."

Piano Man looked at you for few moments. He clearly wanted to ask more questions, but decided to drop the subject.

"Fine. I will believe you. But, please, if you have troubles, talk to us. We care about you. We will help you."

You mumble something under your breath.

they will hate you for lying. idiot. go back to your books

Piano Man threw remaining seeds to the ducks. He held his hand towards you.

"Let's go and buy some groceries. Goncharov promised to cook stew for dinner."

_________

You had a headache. You just wanted this day to be over. You wanted to go home. To stay far away from the Café and University. From students.

They were glaring at you. They hated you.

Duncan, your manager, was towering over you. He bared his teeth and hissed.

"I promise you, you won't stay here for tool long. I will make sure, that you will be fired. Who knew, what diseases you are carrying around. I don't want to have my life ruined because of your debauchery."

You close your eyes. You are hated, because of stupid rumors.

And you can't ask anyone for help.

you aren't important enough to be a burden

to ask for help

you want to cry

you fight the urge

don't show weakness

you need this job

to pay rent

to keep your old apartment

The Café door was opened.

🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹

Piano Man didn't walk into the restaurant. He simply stopped before restaurant window and waved his hand, showing Albatross, Doc and Lippmann, that it was time.

Piano Man kept looking at the Café. At place, where you were working. At place, where you were harassed.

He clenched his fists.

He remembered, how you were acting during last finals. They still were in their world, but they could tell, that you weren't panicking or having a meltdown...

And about students.

There was one thing, that concern not only Piano Man, but all members of BSD Cast.

How empty your list of messages were.

Chat with parents. Chat for your group of students. Chat for all university students (only reading, where students can't post). Chat for Sunset Café workers.

And you hardly interacted with any if the chats.

It would be a good thing, if your parents write even one in a month.

Students in a chat ignored you, if you try to ask something, making you send the message multiple times.

Workers in a café left you on read for a good chunk of time, answering the last moment.

And even after they appeared in this world, they didn't see you hanging with someone else, exept them.

Were you bullied? No, not a correct term.

Piano Man remembered bruises. Bruises, that, according to you, came from falling down.

You were harrassed.

How dare they hurt you?

"[Y/N], don't worry, dear, we will protect you."

You were shy, kind, clever and adorable. Yet, some bastards thought, that they can hurt you. They were wrong.

And Flags will show them, how wrong they were.

"Ready?" asked his friends.

Three "Ready" were his answers.

Ice Man just walked into the café. Piano Man moved forward. Doc, Albatross and Lippmann followed after him.

🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹

Duncan was too absorbed in scoffing at you. He didn't notice, how Iceman walked into a café.

Your other co-workers, however, saw his. And tried to stay as far away as they can.

Iceman was a good man. Soft-spoken and kind. He often invites you to drink coffee together, while listening to some of his records.

But he does have an overwhelming presence. With a scar running down his right eye and emotionless face, tall /hit/ man didn't look like an embodiment of friendship.

Duncan continues to spit insults at you.

"You are everything, that is wrong with your generation. You have no honor or any idea, how normal human beings should behave in society!"

You turned away and tried not to pay attention. You failed. Duncan's yells were loud.

Shouts of approval were heard from different parts of the café. Iceman may have looked scary, but people can't pass up the chance to rub your face in your 'inappropriate' behavior.

With a corner of your eye you saw, how Iceman picked up one of the vases, that was standing on each table and had flowers put in it. With vase in hand, Iceman continue walking to Duncan and you.

You shake your head, trying to stop Iceman from doing what he wanted to do.

you don't need troubles at work!

Door opened again.

The Rest of the Flags walked inside. You have a bad feeling about this.

Duncan's loud howls were interrupted by a soft ringing sound. The fiery speaker fell and hit his face against the floor.

Behind him was Iceman with the most repentant expression on his face. But a sly smile was ruining the image.

"I'm so clumsy!" Iceman “apologized,” pointing with his hand at the glass shards of the vase and the scattered flowers, that were lying on the floor.

“But, honestly, he is such a disgusting guy. It was time for him to shut up.”

Your co-workers realized, what happened just at the end of the speech, and the last words Iceman spoke crouching. A tray of dirty dishes, which Max threw from the kitchen door, passed over his head. The tray flew further and landed on John's head, who tried to escape at the wrong time.

The dishes' life came to an end.

The joyful cry “Get them!” that came from Albatross, announced that the calm day was ruined completely, irrevocably and for everyone at once.

Iceman, with a confident, clearly practiced movement, grabbed surprised you, and threw you behind the counter.

In the café, meanwhile, Piano Man was steadily dipping Max into a bucket of dirty water, Doc was methodically beating John with a rolling pin. Iceman jumped over the tables, running from Steve, the only guard who was already out of breath. Lippmann, who had stolen a frying pan from the kitchen in the midst of a fight, was reprimanding something to the conscious Duncan, reinforcing his words with blows from the frying pan. Albatross throw Kasey onto the counter, and, grabbing her by the collar, began dragging her back and forth.

You didn't know what to do. You were never in a fight before, and, if you stand up, you could become an easy target, putting Flags in disadvantage.

Albatross dragged Kasey away from the counter, so he can deal with another waiter at the same time, and you take a better look at what was going on.

Right that moment, Iceman and Steve ran past the counter, and Steve was close to catching Iceman.

You can't let him hurt your friend!

You grabbed a bottle of vanilla syrup and hit Steve with it.

The guard was now cowered in sticky substance.

And owner finally decided to check on what was going on.

_________

You were standing outside Sunset Café, holding your bag.

Flags brought enough money to pay for all the damage they caused. Owner agreed not to press charges.

But you were fired. You were the reason for a fight. Flags didn't hide, that they saw you being harassed by your former co-workers, and they simply can't let them continue that.

Flags said, that they have proofs. And thanks for that, Max, Duncan, Kasey, John, Steve and others won't press charges.

it is your fault your fault you almost get Flags in trouble

You didn't know what to feel.

You won't be harassed anymore.

But you lose a job. And other places in this town aren't interested in hiring students.

And you need the job

You need money

To keep your old apartment

So you will have...

"[Y/N]? Are you okay? " Iceman's soft voice sounded right above your ear. You looked up at him at the rest of the Flags, who were standing behind him. All of them looked guilty. Iceman spoke again.

"[Y/N], we are sorry, that you have lost your job. But, please, understand, that we couldn't just let some idiots harassed you. We wanted to protect you."

Flags nodded in agreement.

You open your mouth and said the truth.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. And don't worry about my job. I will find another one"

you wanted this. friends, that will protect you. someone, you can protect

Albatross jumped closer to you and put his arm around your shoulders.

"That's the spirit! So, want to grab a bite, before going home?"

Without waiting for your answer, he led you away from Sunset Café. Flags followed after you two.

🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊

Iceman walked behind you. And he was observing. He was glad, that you were safe now. But your attitude... What was going on? Why you let others walked over you?

Right now, you looked happy. But, what if one day... Because of other students...

Iceman whispered.

"We need to discuss it with others. Something is still wrong with Snowflake."

Piano Man, the only one, who heard him, nodded in agreement.

Iceman continue observing you. Albatross was recalling the best moments of the fight, and how cool you were, hitting the guard with a bottle.

You looked embarrassed, but you also participate in conversation.

For now, everything was good.

🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊

You were half-way to the diner, Flags have chosen to grab a bite.

Your last paycheck felt heavy in your pocket.

Last money you earned.

You will spend them on a rent.

On your old apartment, that BSD Cast thought you left permanently.

Because you need this apartment.

Because, after BSD Cast will see, how boring and stupid you are, they will leave. And you will need a place to return to.

But for now, you will simply enjoy your lunch with Flags.

167 notes · View notes

ottogatto · 1 year

Text

I would like to submit two ideas because I think I'm poking something but not going in fully, so I would very much like your opinions and additions about it (of course, as long as they remain in good faith *side eyes possible antis viewing my post*).

Marauders and surface-level rebellion

I've finally put to words something that really bothered me with the Marauders, though I don't know the name for it.

It started when I read a reblog that said:

I remember Brennan saying “laws are just structured threats made by the ruling socioeconomic class” during an episode of D20 and we truly just had to stan immediately

This is something dear privileged white woman Rowling didn't realize/understand well, since she held a high socioeconomical status even during her """poverty""" stage. It's known that, despite seeming to be defending ideas of fighting against fascism and "pureblood" supremacy in favor of acceptance of the other, her books reek of colonialism/imperalism. The story of the Marauders, a gang of privileged boys like her, is an in-world replica of that problem where Rowling betrays yet again her actual mindset.

The Marauders adopt the "bad boys who break rules" to get style, while completely losing/staining the moral sense in it.

Let's take piracy.

Some people pirate stuff because they consider that the stuff they'd like to get comes from unethical companies that abuse their employees or use modern slavery, or people who spread harm against certain minorities (like Rowling against trans people and thus the LGBT+ community), so while they may want to access the content, they don't want to give them money and might even encourage pirating their stuff to make them lose money.

Some pirate stuff because otherwise it's lost due to unfortunate "terms of use" -- see video games companies like Ubisoft (deletes gaming account after a while), Nintendo (does not bring back old games), etc.

Others pirate stuff because they just don't have the money but they still want to try the stuff that might make them happy and forget that they're poor -- reasoning that the company isn't losing any money anyway, or not much, since they wouldn't have been able to pay for it in any case.

Others pirate stuff because they consider the price ridiculously high or they consider it shouldn't be something to pay for at all. (Like education stuff -- isn't education supposed to be free for all, so that it can actually uphold everyone's fundamental and unconditional ( = not conditioned by wealth...) right to have an education? Oh and before anyone asks: I've DEFINITELY bought the ~15 expensive books that's roughly worth 500€ in total and that my uni asked I buy to study and get my degree...)

Rowling's Marauders is a group that would pirate stuff just because they'd think it would give them an edge, because they'd think it would make them cool to be seen as "talented" hackers who "defy" companies. Companies... that their own friends and families would own, and as such, would find that kind of behavior funny and entertaining (while they would trash other people around for considering it).

Another example. In society, in history, it's been proven time and again that breaking rules -- going against the law -- is an eventuality that's important for everyone to consider, if they want to defend their rights. Anti-racism, feminism, LGBT Pride, etc, advanced because people broke rules. In USA states where abortion is currently being banned, women and minors (+ their close ones) must now consider breaking the rules to get an abortion. (Privileged people don't give a fuck about those people, and if they suddenly decide that (moral) rules don't apply to them and they will get an abortion, they will just take a plane ticket to a country where abortion is legal, fiddling with legal stuff if necessary thanks to the lawyers their fortunes can afford and the lobbies that they're instituting.)

Revolutions happened because people broke rules too. I particularly like the 1793 Constitution in France Because it asserts that the people have the right to break rules and riot if the power in place threatens their fundamental rights:

Article 35. - Quand le gouvernement viole les droits du peuple, l'insurrection est, pour le peuple et pour chaque portion du peuple, le plus sacré des droits et le plus indispensable des devoirs. Article 35. - When the government violates the people's rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of rights and the most essential of duties.

(Of course the power in place would state and enforce and make use of propaganda to say that it's completely illegal and illegetimate and that those who riot for legitimate rights are terrorists!)

Breaking rules is at the core of anti-fascism, anti-dictatorship, anti-totalitarianism. Breaking rules is essential when those rules are abusive. Too often, those who put those rules in place really are only setting their rules of the game to establish their power over the others. Or as the reblog says: "laws are just structured threats made by the ruling socioeconomic class".

Rowling's Marauders break rules because they are the socioeconomical class in power. As such, no one can do anything about it, no one will really tell them down for it. They get excused and justified and romanticized by their peers, just like billionaires & politicians are excused by their peers and notably mainstream media (which is owned... by other billionaires). They break rules -- not because they think it's necessary and the morally right thing to do despite the dangers it puts them in -- but because it makes them feel powerful, important, invincible, which for them is very fun. As Snape says: James and his cronies broke rules because they thought themselves above them:

“Your father didn’t set much store by rules either,” Snape went on, pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. “Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. [...]”

They break rules because they're allowed to.

Which is why, in reality, the Marauders aren't really breaking rules or defying anything or opposing an actual big threat. They're a bunch of jocks who are having fun in the playground that's been attributed to them thanks to their status and family heritage (others wouldn't get the same indulgence because they don't get that privilege).

They break rules because they want to look cool, to be the "bad boys". The message has been compleyely botched. Especially with Lily actually finding this hot.

Because Rowling finds this hot:

[...] I shook hands with a woman who leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, 'Sirius Black is sexy, right?' And yes, of course she was right, as the Immeritus club know. The best-looking, most rebellious, most dangerous of the four marauders... and to answer one burning question on the discussion boards, his eyes are grey.

(Anyone has an eyes washing station?)

Another quote:

"Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married."

(Nevermind the eyes washing, anyone's got some bleach instead?)

Stanning James Potter for being the leader of a gang that prides itself on breaking rules and always getting away with it -- it feels like stanning Elon Musk for being "innovative" and "a daring entrepreneur" despite being a manchild who exploits workers and modern-world slavery to play with his billions while always getting away with it.

They're not being "rebels" -- they're being bullies and flexing the fact they can get away with it thanks to abundance of privilege. Those are the tastes of a posh British white woman. She wanted the facade -- not the substance (that is, if she ever understood it).

You might say that they did oppose a big threat, the Death Eaters, but again, it's botched because:

they target a lonely, unpopular boy who's best friends with a Muggleborn Gryffindor, rather than baby Death Eaters like Mulciber, Lucius, Rosier, Avery, Regulus, etc.

The leader sexually harasses the Muggleborn Gryffindor because he's sexually jealous of the unpopular boy who dared not take the insult about his chosen House and shut up. Lily is treated as an object, they don't listen to her, and they barely speak about her later. (Lots to say to show that, which I won't do here because this is not the main subject.)

When the Marauders do join the Order, they do it... because they primarily want to adopt a rock-n-roll style and play the "bad boys" again. Or at least that's the message that's given to the reader:

They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair; his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter's guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, tuneless rock band.

(God, the Prequel is so cringy.)

They don't choose Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper, they don't tell him they changed to Pettigrew -- even though he literally was their war leader -- James uses the Cape to fuck around even though he was supposed to be hiding with Lily and then Harry (until Dumbledore takes the Cape from him)... and eventually, their group exploded, with James killed off, Sirius thrown to Azkaban, Peter (the traitor) hiding as a rat and Lupin going off to find jobs to survive.

Why did that happen? Because they thought of playing their part in the Order like going on a teenage adventure rather than engaging in a resistance organization. It was, first and foremost, about playing "the bad boys" and having fun.

(Harry half-inherits this. While he doesn't break rules just to look cool, and actually has several moments where he does break rules because it's the right thing to do -- like under Umbridge or, of course, when Voldemort takes power -- he does often get pampered when he breaks them in his earlier years. By Dumbledore, but also McGonagall, however much Rowling tries to sell her as a "strict but fair" teacher. Or by Slughorn, now that I think about it. That's something that enraged Snape, as it brought up memories of Harry's father -- Snape's own bully -- getting the same treatment.)

It's not a coincidence that Rowling not only failed to properly convey through the Marauders the true value of breaking rules, but also lusted over them for adopting that "bad boys" trope. It speaks to her own privilege -- she who never had to put herself in danger and go against the law in a risky attempt to protect herself or other less privileged people.

(Here's a useful read to expand on those worldbuilding issues.)

2. Dark Magic, obscurantism and conservatism

For context: Opinion: The Dark Magic/Light Magic Dichotomy is Nonsense (by pet_genius).

The idea of "Dark Magic" as something that's repeatedly told to be "evil" magic and where you cross the line of the forbidden, while hardly putting in question that notion that was (for some reason) enforced by wizard society, is another blatant example of Rowling betraying her mindset of privileged British white woman.

Rowling couldn't put herself in the minds of a society of "outcasts (witches & wizards) deeply enough to consider they would not see any magic as "Dark" at all (being a ""Muggle"" concept), or that Dark magic is only magic that requires something unvaluable to be traded off -- like one's soul or health or life or sanity. Instead, she has Dark Magic defined as "evil" magic, even though her own books show that you can do evil stuff with normal magic, and that you can do morally good stuff with Dark magic. This thing happened because Rowling could not think past her own little world and instead she poured a conservatist mentality (+ typical "Muggle", anti-witch prejudice) into the HP (wizard society) worldbuilding without considering that there could, in fact, be fundamental differences between the two worlds that include thinking of magic differently. (This has a lot to do with Rowling's wizard world being a pro-imperalism fest.)

"Dark Magic" feels like a lazy, badly-executed plot device to tell the reader who's a good guy and who is not. Because of course, that's how things work in real-life, huh… (Did she ever hear of "don't tell, show"?) It's used as an excuse to define who's evil (teen Severus) or not (James), who's worthy or not -- not how their magic was used. Which is a BIG problem:

“I’m just trying to show you they’re not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are.” The intensity of his gaze made her blush. “They don’t use Dark Magic, though.” / “Scourgify!” Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape’s mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him —

Even worse, Rowling doesn't follow her own in-world moral framework. Dark magic is acceptable for some people (Rowling's partial self-inserts: Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione to Marietta...) but not for those that Rowling hates (Snape, who ironically represents the closest thing to rebelling by unapologetically obsessing over the Dark Arts). Again, this is at best unadressed in-world hypocrisy, at worst an expression of in-world and out-universe privilege (I get to do this and stay a good guy, but you don't).

There could have easily been rightful criticism of whatever could be defined as "Dark Magic". What if Dark magic was just something defined as "Dark" usually because the power in place doesn't want the people to touch it? Is abortion or contraception or a sex-altering or a goverment-threatening spell, Dark Magic? Is foreign or ethnicity-specific or female-centered or queer-centered magic, "Dark"? How about showing why (Muggle-raised but also neurodivergent) Severus thought Dark magic was so great, showing his point of view, while also establishing where the true limits are? If Lily can't be the one who sees past the "fear-mongering anti-intellectualism/propaganda", how about Harry being the one who does, thanks to him relating to Snape on a personal level? How about making Hermione go from someone who condems Dark Magic, to someone who entirely changes her point of view and understands that this is all bullshit -- effectively showing the dangers of only following what the books say, without putting them into question or thinking by yourself? How about a nuanced view of Dark magic as something that requires a significant sacrifice, which is conceivable for something they see as equally or even more important [Lily's life for Harry; Snape's soul integrity for Dumbledore]? How about making the Death Eaters, people who deviate that legitimate interest, rather than just evil guys who thrive in Dark magic for its supposed added evilness? How about showing that Dark magic was just a notion invented by Muggles to throw "witches" (real or not) to the burning stakes -- later taken by the witches and wizards in power to define, in the magical community, what was okay or definitely forbidden because it's the trademark of those who represent a threat to the magical community (understand: people who riot or strike or protest against the ruling socioeconomical class' politics)?

But there was none of that.

"Dark" magic in HP merely seems to be a weird concept that at best accidentally takes the form of an in-world obscurantism, at worst is just the trademark of someone who cannot imagine a "hunted, ostracized" community with a different culture and mindset than her own. Aggravating is the fact that she used "Dark magic" as a plot device to magically cast some people as good and others as never bad – again, probably reflecting her own questionable mentality.

The fact Rowlnig invented the notion of Dark Magic and had her world consider it seriously as an evil thing instead of being open-minded seems to be less telling of her wishes to show a wizard society that can be as prejudiced as the muggle one, and more of her own bizarre world where you must be evil if you are knowledgeable in or interested in certain "taboo" things (RIP neurodivergents).

Rowling glorifies the Trio and the Marauders for breaking rules. Yet when it comes to actually breaking expectations and norms, notably in the wizarding society -- like the use of another magical species as slaves, or the blatant anti-Muggle prejudice held by everyone including "good guys" (or anti-centaur while we're at it), or stupid anti-knowledge prejudice like "Dark magic is evil" -- there is none of that. At best, it's surface-level opposition that comes out as white savior syndrome. At worst, the protagonists make it their noble code to enforce those norms, and "sinful" characters (Snape, for one) are punished for not conforming. Too often, those sinful characters are punished by the "good guys" with the very thing that they apparently oppose so fervently.

Without ever adressing the fact that those characters were ("morally") allowed to do that because it was just, in the end, a matter of who gets the privilege to do that, and who does not.

There.

Do you have anything to say to develop on those ideas? I feel like I'm reaching my knowledge limit and I'd like to see if those ideas can be expanded.

#pro snape #severus snape #harry potter #dark magic #sectumsempra #anti marauders #anti jkr #fuck jkr #classism #imperalism #colonialism #hp #hp books #hp prequel #obscurantism #bad boys #piracy #virtue signaling

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bxckkdoor · 2 months

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live while we're young ⋆.✧˚

SYNOPSIS : when beating your best friend, kai, at too many arcade games leads you to the stuffed animal-filled claw machine; he swoops in to help you win a plushie of your own. PLAYLIST : live while we're young - one direction ; love 119 - riize PAIRING(S) : best friend!kai x gender neutral reader WARNING(S) : none (?)

꒰ note : have you missed the other dates? read soobin, yeonjun, beomgyu, and taehyun's day dates over on saku's blog and their night dates here !! if you're back for todays dates, thanks for tuning in to our summer !! go check out kai's day date on saku's blog <3 enjoy and i'll see you this weekend for the finale !! ꒱

𖧷 "oo, it's so pretty in here," you say in awe as you enter the room, the rainbow lights on the brightly colored arcade machines. kai, your best friend, who's holding the door, walks in behind you. before he could agree, you rush off to the first game you see.

the arcade is mostly empty. the only people to be seen are tired employees sipping fountain drinks and chatting. you look around and scope the scene, looking for your favorite games.

you bounce between games and machines, gaining tickets. you play against kai in air hockey and beat him by a landslide. kai challenges you to a rematch, and this time, he wins. ignoring how he rubs it in your face, you find more games to battle him in.

𖧷 "oh, come on! i beat you fair and square, didn't i? the rematch was winner-take-all, so i won!" he brags, and you roll your eyes, the playful banter between you always a source of amusement. but you'd never tell him that.

you rush to point at a claw machine, sliding in a few coins. you fiddle with the joystick, guiding the claw to hover above a cute plush penguin. you push the bottom beside the joystick, and the claw descends, clasping the arm of the blue penguin. it comes back up and takes the plush with it. it glides across the top of the machine.

as the plush penguin nears the prize slot, it falls short. you try again unsuccessfully, and after your fourth attempt, you give up. you whine and slump down a bit before you turn to look at kai. "hey, hyuka?"

𖧷 kai looks at you, already knowing what you're going to ask, and moves closer, inserting his coins. he does the same as you, but more methodically. this time, the claw successfully drops the plush into the prize slot. he retrieves it and offers it to you, and you accept it with a victorious smile, hugging it tightly.

"oh my god, he's so cute!! look at his little face; he looks just like you!!" you go into a cuteness aggression, squeezing the cheek of the plush and doing the same to kai.

you get blinded by the adorable face of the plush, and kai begins to pout. you both still stand in front of the claw machine, and he leans against it, observing you. jealousy bubbles in his chest as he watches you baby the cute stuffed animal.

𖧷 "i'm starting to think you like that penguin more than you like me," he jokes, but you still don't look up, reading the plush's tag. you finally speak up, thrilled. "his name's kai, too!"

you look up at him with big eyes, and he leans down to kiss you before he can even question himself. you can't even focus on kissing him back before it's over, and you mentally scold yourself for missing your chance.

he rushes to apologize. "oh my god, uhm, i'm sorry. your cheeks were red, and you looked so pretty with the lights on your face, but i should've asked—"

𖧷 "can i kiss you?" you cut his apologetic rant off, and he stares at you dumbfounded. he nods, and you peck him lightly. once you pull back, kai takes the penguin into his hands and looks at him. "can we have shared custody? he's really cute, actually."

your stomach growls after you walk around the arcade and have a long conversation about your new son. kai giggles under his breath. "wanna get some pizza?" you perk up at his offer and skip over to the food counter.

"as long as you're paying!"

taglist : @hyukassubi @lun4kazumii

#cece&saku our summer #huening kai x reader #kai x reader #txt x reader #txt fluff #txt headcanons #tomorrow x together #my posts <3

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laf-outloud · 1 year

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Hi,

Here is the European Anon (or Troll as I am called at the moment). I would like to clarify a few things. I am a fan. Of the show, of the characters, of the two J's. That's the reason why the info about the contract could hurt me so much in the first place. Because this time it affected me myself. I've worked with stars who showed up to work (con) drunk. Who spent more time on Grindr than signing autographs. Who treated their Händlers like crap, while up front they were the loving, attentive star. You learn two things quickly in the businees. The manager is always right, and the star is never the bad guy. We had two guests from an equally famous CW show. The managers had agreed to a duo shoot. The problem was that they hated each other. In the sense of, we had to separate the two spatially, because otherwise it would have come to fisticuffs. The managers of both parties tried everything to make the duo shoot possible somehow and while one star finally agreed to get it over with "professionally", the other remained stubborn. The end? The duo was canceled with the reason "unforeseen scheduling difficulties" Well, sounds familiar? (No it's not Vampire Diaries, Paul and Ian are really like brothers, lol).

What you also learn very quickly. The fans forgive everything and the star is perfect in their eyes. No matter whether stars were bad-tempered, bitchy or sometimes even downright unfriendly, the fans always found an excuse for them, or in the end made us organizers responsible for it. Well, we can live with that, as long as people still pay for their tickets. At the end of the day it is a business.

Why am I writing this? So far it has never really affected me. For me, most of them are just people like you and me and I could deal with most of the stars in a really friendly or business way. But I've been a fan of Supernatural since the beginning. And then such an info is no longer professional but hurts.

I want to make it very clear that no SPN star I have ever dealt with has been unprofessional or unfriendly. Even though Misha's manager is a terrible woman, he himself was always polite to us as employees. And even from colleagues who have worked with J2 so far, there has never been a negative word.

That is why I was so looking forward to working with them. To be able to experience this famous friendship directly.

I am not so high in the hirachie that I get to read a direct correspondence of the management. I also can't say which Con I work for without risking my job. I know it's easier to make me out to be a liar than to accept that I might be right. I realize that and I can even understand that.

I've been sitting on this information for weeks, but who am I going to tell? Who believes me? I've talked to two close friends about it who are also fans and they didn't believe it either.

The trigger was the first reports from Charlotte. I have friends who are on site and yes, probably their euphoria and two glasses of wine on my part made me write to two people. Patrick (TFW) and LOL Jackles . Who I have found through Tumblr several times to be relatively fair and interested in facts. But there was no response. I was honestly taken aback by this, because even if they won‘t believe me, why not share the info anyway? Or at least respond to it? If there is nothing to what I say, then it could be quickly invalidated or? Unless the two know exactly that I'm right and are afraid of when it comes out.

I have written to you days later. you can look it up. I read post that you and others wondered why jared and jensen only come to different cons. That's why I thought, okay I'll send it again. I found your explanation of not posting it understandable and at least you didn't immediately ignore it. Thanks for that. that's also why I'm replying exclusively to you.

Again, I understand if you don't believe me. After all, I didn't want to believe my boss either. I thought he was just not willing to pay the 300 K (And that's what they cost each).

But now exactly what he said happens.

If I am telling the untruth, then why is Jared actually appearing at the same promoters (Monopoy Events, Entertainment Events Etc) on a different date than Jensen and always including Gen? And look at the line up of the English cons and tell me that you could not have paid Jared‘s fee to run various duo shots! If I'm lying, why is Creation now releasing the second convention for 2024 with only Jensen as headliner but not with Jared? It can't be the money, because Creation takes the same amount for the tickets as usual. And schedule difficulties during an official strike ? Hardly. You can call me a troll, but I am a fan as well, I know that you want to believe until the end that everything is good. But I just think the fans have at least a right to hear the truth. And that is that Jared's management will get away from creation cons in the future and will favor cons that Jensen doesn't attend.

Thank you for writing in, again. I'm sorry that because of the multiple asks, you've been classified as a troll. I've been on Tumblr long enough that I've seen multiple copy/paste asks and they most often are a troll, but I can see your reasoning. (I will say that TFW2.0 is a fan of Jensen first, so anything that could put him in a negative light will be summarily dismissed.)

I decided to post this response since your original ask seems to have been seen by multiple other people despite not being posted and I'll allow people to make up their own minds about what they want to believe.

I will say that Jared's absence from the con in July could be due to other reasons, like his standard summer vacation or birthday stuff, and June could be because he anticipates that they might be filming Walker into the summer, depending on how long the strike lasts.

When it comes to doing cons with or without Jensen, I know my initial response was regarding Jared's mental health, but it could also be a strategic business decision. Jared may want to distance himself from SPN (and Jensen) to open up other acting/producing opportunities. It's not always advantageous to just be known as "one of those guys from SPN." He's said before that he enjoys producing and I'm sure he knows Walker isn't going to last forever. An actor/producer's career shouldn't be defined by one role. He may also be promoting Gen to help increase her profile if they plan on producing together in the future. I'm sure there are some who, if they believe it's true, will take it personally, but it really may just be a business decision.

Either way, thank you for sharing. And if there are people who agree/disagree and decide to write to me with their rebuttals, please remember to do so respectfully. I won't post anything with accusatory language, insults, or outright dismissals.

#ask box #european anon #convention discussions #tfw2.0 critical #jensen critical #just in case #jared and gen convention appearances

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innerslumber · 2 years

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I know this might sound silly but I am feeling really emotional over the messages I've gotten over the Marvel Exhibit posts. I've had people thank me for sharing because they will probably never get a chance to see it. I've had people who has already seen the exhibit but the stuff I saw was new for them and how much they enjoyed it. It's just...been really gratifying.

Because going to this exhibit has been on my To Do list for months. When I finally escaped my abusive spouse with my children, all I could think 24/7 was how do I protect them and how do I get our family stable. And I remember one of my kids' counselor telling me that I need to pick at least one thing for myself. One thing that is just for me because he said I deserved good things too. That I should be free to have an afternoon where I can have fun, without worry and guilt.

And every month, like clockwork, he'd ask me if I had gone to see it. And every time I had an excuse. Oh I was busy meeting my lawyer because I'm about to go to court. Oh I gotta get our new apartment set up. Oh my friends are busy and they can't help watch the kids. There was always something more important because there was so much to do. But the truth was, I was also just so scared. What if my kids got sick while I was gone and I couldn't be at the school right away? What if my car broke down and I got stranded? What if I missed an important call because I was too distracted? Just scared scared scared.

But the exhibit was leaving in April and I knew the clock was ticking. So I finally picked a date when I knew my kids would be looked after, bought a ticket and went.

I remember at the start of the tour, the museum employee said most people spend 30-40 minutes to get through it. I spent almost 3 hours. I read every plaque, stared at the art and costumes from every angle, and even looped back to see things when the crowd had thinned out. Just so I can savor it. Because I felt this panic, like if I don't seize this moment, I'll never be allowed to enjoy something alone again.

But after the tour was over, I went and got lunch and let it sink in. That this wasn't my last chance to enjoy something for myself. That it was okay to enjoy myself. That I was allowed to. I could eat this food that I normally wouldn't have ordered because my spouse would complain about the smell of the food I grew up with. That I could enjoy it without censure or ridicule. I didn't have to rush back and be terrified that I would be late and get screamed at. I could actually pay for this lunch from my own bank account. That I didn't have to sneak around using cash that I had squirreled away so my purchases wouldn't give away my location on the online bank statement. I could just...sit there and watch people walk by in the sun while I sipped my soda and...it was okay. I didn't have to feel guilty that I was alone and enjoying an afternoon doing something "frivolous".

And it just really hit me why I even wanted to go to the Marvel exhibit in the first place. Because luckily I fell into this fandom just when my life was at its darkest. All the wonderful friends, fics, art and crazy posts that helped me get through all the lonely, scary, painful days and nights. Reading Bucky recovery fics after he escaped his torture and brainwashing and telling myself I can do that too. Then feeling stupid that I was projecting so hard on a fictional character but desperately wishing I had a Steve too.

My therapist told me that recovering from trauma is not linear and I'm going to have good days and bad days. And sometimes it will take days before my mind processes things completely. Over a week passed since I went to the exhibit and I found myself crashing. I know it may seem ridiculous but in my mind, I was setting a pin on this outing. A bright shining lodestone in my mental eye. A box that I could tick saying, "Yes. You're finally at a point where you can allow yourself to have this." And now that I was on the other side of it, I felt a bit lost.

But I was scrolling through the pictures I took and I decided to share on the blog. Initially I was just going to send some to friends in DMs but I changed my mind. Editing 90 images and writing up posts at 3 am was probably not a good life choice but fuck it, I never said I was smart lololol.

So I'm really glad that I was able to give something back to the fandom that's given me so much through this difficult time in my life. It's just pictures and my crack commentary but I'm happy that it gave other fans some serotonin. Some days I feel this imposter syndrome where I'm barely holding it together and I am sure I'm not the only one. But it feels so damn good when my friends and I can squeal over our favorite characters and just take unabashed joy in it.

Because for the first time in a long time, my body is my own, my mind is my own and my heart is my own. I can empty my mind of the pain and fill my heart with love.

And where my mind and my heart wants to go, they can. Even to go see some superhero tights.

#personal thoughts #PTSD #recovery from trauma #stucky #fandom love #gosh i got so fucking lucky meeting you all #what a bunch of stand up impossibly loving human beings #i hope we can keep squealing over Bucky and Steve together for a long time #or any other ships you all indoctrinate me into hahaha #love you #Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes

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stingslikeabee · 3 months

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❛ Should I use ShinRa's dental to replace my teeth with silver fangs? ❜

unscripted asks . always accepting

A diamond was a girl's best friend - a timeless saying that was preserved among upperplate ladies for one engagement after the other. Melissa, while not a topside resident (and arguably not even a lady, in the views of many), had to disagree on that front despite the incredible size of the rock on the finger of her left hand - she happened to have two best friends, then.

The second one was the redhead Turk lounging just behind her - Reno had finished his shower and personal care routine, dressed in a ridiculously expensive fluffy robe and turned on the TV to the most trashy content available (a reality show with couples fighting each other to remain on some little island close to Costa, if the madame heard it right). Melissa was on the table nearby, eyes inspect one page after the other from a series of leaflets and booklets that Reno had never really paused to consider.

The materials of his benefit package - sent by Shinra's human resources department and which he had no use for. In addition to the actual cash he got from the company and the very comfortable lifestyle it offered, the Turk didn't have any other pressing needs. But that changed after their marriage of convenience - as Reno's lawfully wedded wife, Melissa was now entitled to all these incredible little things.

Discounted fares for Costa del Sol if boarding the company's vessel; two pairs of tickets for any spectacles sponsored by Shinra at Loveless avenue per month; a series of vouchers to be cashed out restaurants that had been favorably regarded by top company management; priority when making reservation at the best Junon inns, particularly during celebrations of the military. The company even went as far as selecting employees through a lottery process for an all-paid vacation of five days at the Gold Saucer to boost morale!

Melissa was living for the benefits - nothing short of a privilege that people like her had never been afforded and could never dream of unless they married into the company, apparently. The fact that Reno was free to continue his life (including his sexual one) as he saw fit did not represent a breach of any terms - all Shinra required was for a paper saying they were wedded... Which was a bulletproof arrangement for the brunette, too.

(Who would be insane to fuck with her establishment or her girls knowing she was married to a Turk? One of the most dangerous jobs within Shinra, and the reason they were also paid so well?)

So when the question came from behind her, Melissa actually paused everything and turned around in the chair, craning her body to look at the redhead. They had discussed the dental insurance earlier - one of the few things Reno did recommend, and which made a lot of difference for a slum kid like him to fit in (the woman could see why, of course). The joke, however, didn't have his wife laughing - but instead removing the reading glasses off her face very seriously, folding it in a classical pensive move.

"Well. There is nothing in the rules saying you couldn't do it. Personally, I do think it matches your brand," the brunette smiled, then regarded Reno with a pointed look that was the prelude of her own comeback, "But if you want honest advice from your darling wife? Don't do it. Can see that being a problem if you feel like sucking dick and the guy is distracted," Melissa then outright grinned, obviously finding the idea hilarious in her head, "It's not that I don't think you give awesome head, my dear. It's just that I'm sure some men out there won't be able to handle you."

Leaning back, the smirk faded - but not entirely, and the madame's honeyed eyes were still sparkling with humor. "Unless you like it bloody, then go for it. Be happy, bite a dick."

#bitterarcs #v: FFVII #replied #I couldn't help it #I wanted to make this silly #but it was actually serious until it became unhinged #I cannot seriously tell if this is crack or not

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sixpennydame · 10 months

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My Beautiful Bestie ❤️❤️❤️

One year of Tumblr!!! Congrats Sailor!!!

And one year of friendship between us too!!! I'm so so glad I met you here, you're a wonderful woman, kind, smart, funny, caring & an amazing writer! You know how much I love to read your works but I say it again! I'm a big fan & I'm waiting for new great stories or chapters of North Star (no pressure though, just showing some appreciation!)

For the writers asks, 🎉 💝 💌 please!

Love you so so much ❤️🌹😘

Val, my Bestie! I vividly remember you being one of the first people to reblog The Better Man and me messaging you to thank you. We've been friends ever since, and I'm so thankful for it. Here's to many more years to come!

It's my one-year Tumblr-versary! Send me a writer's ask!

🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!)

Hmm...I usually celebrate by closing my computer or iPad, stepping away from social media and taking a long walk. I am very (very) hard on myself, and often think I don't deserve any credit or praise, so doing that is a challenge. But I'm trying to be better!

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Honestly, I didn't think Make.Believe, would be the hit that it was. (There's that low self esteem talking again.) I had had it in my drafts for months, but decided to publish it on a whim. Part 1 is now at almost 1k notes, which is crazy to me! I am a little sad that Part 2 or 3 didn't do as well, but overall I'm happy with the series.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

I'm ever so slowly working on Neon Tears, which is another series I've had in my mind for months. I hope that when this semester finishes I'll be able to focus more on writing. Here's a peek of Reader talking to Hange:

“I um..I’m from Earth.” Their eyes go wide. “Earth? That shithole? I didn’t know there were still settlements there. How did you even earn a ticket to get to Mars?” You open your mouth to reply, but they put their hand out. “Don’t answer that - it’s none of my business.” Obviously your planet of birth has made you intriguing; hopefully intriguing enough that they’ll give you a job. They look you up and down like you were a science experiment. “And why would an Earthling such as yourself want to work here, at Club Azure?” “I’m a hard worker and a quick learner. And I need to make money fast.” “Mmmhmmm..and you can definitely do that here, if the guests like you,” they smile, “and you certainly would be a unique curiosity,” their eyes gleam behind their glasses, “but why do you really want to work here?” There’s a silence as you think about what to say, but decide you might as well tell the truth. “This line of work doesn’t require me to have Mars citizenship papers.” “And there it is,” they nod, seeming satisfied with your honesty. “It’s true, we don’t really care about those things here. In return, we expect our employees to be…discreet about our clientele’s information and other business that goes on here.” “I can be discreet.” “I believe it.”

#thank you for always supporting me Val #ilysm <3 #lovely moots 💕#moots:Val #ask sailor

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dimonds456 · 2 years

Text

STEAM SCAM! WATCH OUT!

Okay, so my Steam account is probably going to be deleted because of a recent scam I fell victim of. A friend DMed me, saying that they'd accidentally reported my account of a false purchase when they meant to report someone else, and that now I had like 7 hours to appeal for innocence or my account would be permanently suspended.

So, I decided to go through with it. They sent me a screenshot of a Steam ticket with a Discord user on it to help out.

THIS IS A SCAM. My friend's account had been hacked, because they also got this scam and the hacker got to their account at the end. DO NOT reach out for this Discord user, or any other users put there instead.

I went through with it and contacted this user. After that, they sounded very official. They were asking me about my account purchase history (to verify that I had bought games) to finding the matching purchase in my bank history (through which they actually took steps to protect my privacy). They seemed like a very real person!

If some of this reads weird, it's because we were in VC. They were muted, I wasn't.

SOMEONE FROM STEAM WILL NEVER ASK YOU TO SEND MONEY OR CLICK ON WEBSITE LINKS THAT ARE NOT OWNED BY STEAM ITSELF. This person sent me to two websites that looked Steam-owned, but THEY ARE NOT. Anything from Steam will fall under steam.community or steam.com. ANYTHING ELSE IS FRAUD!

Don't get me wrong! This person seemed like a very real employee! They had control over my account and were actually changing things in real time! But that's the thing; they're a hacker. Of COURSE they have control like that.

After I found out that they were scamming me, I called them on it. They then threatened to take down my Steam account. As of writing this, I'm not sure if they did or not, but I cannot even access it anymore, so if they didn't, doesn't make much difference to me.

PLEASE REBLOG TO SPREAD THE WORD. THIS IS A SCAM. DO NOT FALL FOR IT.

#dimond speaks #important #scammers #hackers #steam #valve

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onlyyoumygirl-onlyyoudarling · 2 years

Text

♡~Ya'aburnee [ H.S ]

☆~ "you bury me"; the hope that you will die before your love because you cannot live without them.

[ A Harry Styles Fanfiction.]

✧ { Chapter I }

A Curse.

That runs deep through centuries and centuries.

✧*°⟨————————————————— ⟩°*✧

She wasn't kidding. Ria really wasn't kidding,

She thought as her feet stood frozen in awe of her surroundings, inside the very entrance of a museum, still not open to the public which literally looked like a castle.

No. It quite literally was a castle. You were standing in the garden of the castle— no wait.

{Edward's Palace}

The banner read. So that's what it's name was. Edward's Palace, What a name. Basic much.

Apparently, Ria, her best friend had a thing going on with a guy. Oh, that too a very—very rich one which is why and just how she even made it here.

What was his name again? Jacob Mc-something.

In much shorter and simple summary, Her best friend was a fucking a very rich man, and by a 'rich man' definitely one of those rich men with a high post in one of the richest and biggest companies.

In the back of her mind she could hear her best friend nagging at her that it wasn't just a thing or fling she had going on with Jacob guy.

"Are you sure ri? You dragged me here for a 'mini-vacation' without return tickets. We didn't even book a hotel seriously what will we do if it turns out your sugar daddy-"

"boyfriend." Ria corrected her.

"When did that happen! But what if he was just letting you fantasize fake nothings? What then? Where are we gonna sleep for the night?" She couldn't be blamed for her anxiety because it was still out of her mind that they were going to stay in this enormous castle.

Oh and pardon for the forgettable mention but it was 22:22 (according to 24hr clock) in her watch last she checked when she entered the property. It was already too late now and she could feel herself creeping out by the amount of statues that stood still in the garden. One that particularly caught her eye was a not yet functioned to work fountain statue.

A statue of mermaid laying upright, a pained expression painted over her face looking down at the pot that rested half along her torso but still leaning towards the outside. There were too many, too fucking many statues in the garden alone and if she got caught up admiring them she might even get hypnotized by the beauty of the lifeless pieces.

"No we won't need need a back up. We are going to spend our stay here." She answers scrolling away on her phone.

"Oh right, because obviously every other person comes for a mini vacation and gets to stay in a multi million- possibly more than that? worth of a palace that is owned and preserved by government!"

"Yeah because Jacob is the executive director of this project, yn!" She yelled back, both of them annoyed.

"what project?" May god help her because she's feeling slower and more clueless than probably a sloth right now.

"Jacob, babes is in main charge of this project where they're going to reconstruct the first two floors of this palace into a public accessible art gallery preserving the art pieces of this palace and it's history and myths. The workers and employees involved in this project are allowed to stay in here." Her best friend explains and only then does a little fog in her mind clears up.

"So what you're telling..is that we will pretend to be working in this project to stay here?"

"Of course not, sweetheart. I am his fiance and you're my sister." Y/N stared at her bestfriend in disbelief. The worst part is that her best friend was just so proud of the plan she thought will succeed.

"That's it?" Speechless but she still managed to ask Ria.

"Oh and—" "Uhm miss—"

"FUCK ME" "Jesus!", Both of them much presumably at the same time cursed in horror at the interruption of an unknown voice.

[Narrator: And I would very much leave it up for the dead dear reader to guess which one cursed what]

"—I'm Rajat. May I help you?" Totally unfazed continued the unknown guy named Rajat that seemed to appear out of absolute nowhere.

Did he just come alive from one of those statues? , She took a wild guess.

"Oh, Hello. I'm Ria. Ria Johannesburg." Ria introduced herself after which she was answered with a 'Good Evening' by Rajat, still very much unknown.

"Mustn't you know Jacob McPherson?," Rajat's eyes wavered in familiarity. He must know Jacob then. He later answered "Yes, I do."

'So his last name is McPherson..., Thought Y/N in midst of it all.

"Oh great. I'm his fiance. I think he must've informed you about our arrival? That's my sister—" She cut her Ria off consumed in a hurry,

"Y/N Geller." Shit.

"Yeah...my step sister." Miss Y/N Geller pursed her lips in the urge of face palming herself. She could've just said cousin, She thought. Again.

"Very Well. I was made informed of your arrival Ms. Johannesburg but well... about Ms.Geller," he trailed off, hesitancy evident in his tone.

"Yes. What about me?" She answered confidently. Tried to.

"I don't think I could allow you in—"

"Bullshit!" Interrupts a voice. No, not Y/N's.

"Uhm. Who are you?" Y/N and her best friend, who caused them few unfortunate events both ask at the same time.

"You may call me Mr.WilliamJones, Ladies. And oh—You young fella! Carry their bags will you? And you lovely ladies, please come with me. I shall guide you to your respective rooms." WilliamJones, probably in his early 60s with subtle white hair and worn a vest along with his trousers.

Ria's eyes met with yours, both of you silently communicating. "Well, that was easy.", She whispered only for both you to hear.

Her best friend trails off in a conversation with this Mr.WilliamJones, asking him about the history of the palace, current plans and yada yada yada but she couldn't find herself focusing on a single word they were saying. She was too mesmerised by the glory of the land, as soon as she stepped in. Magnificent.

It looked like the maker of this palace had taken the word "magnificent" out of its dictionary just mould it into the air of this palace. The walls and the art carved upon them, the walls that look so lively yet painted in history, the air that still lingers with memories of those who lived and passed. Maybe they still do.

While on her way to their room she caught eyes with many other statues and painting. All of them seemingly gazing towards her with lifeless eyes that made her think would come to life only if she looked a little too close. The paintings looking down at her, snickering among themselves if they could.

(A little tw? Description of gore themes.)

There was a painting that screamed to her, making her stop in her tracks. Sat there, crouched in misery a headless and heartless body. A body without head and a heart. The ribcage rested open visibly in it's chest as if the heart had been clawed and picked right apart from it's place . A crack ran down it's shoulders starting from the shoulder blades that glowed in despondent brightness of it's blood. It's head sat pretty right upon it's body, angled in a way that made it seem like it belonged to the body, yet detached. And it's heart crumpled and torn was kept caged in a tainted glass.

There were too many little complex details that made this work of art just so tragic yet undeniably alluring.

“Lacuna ”,

whispered a voice like whoosh of a cold breeze in her ear.

✧*°⟨————————————————— ⟩°*✧

#harry styles x reader #harry styles #harrys house #harry styles blurb #harry styles × reader #harry styles supernatural fic #H.S Fic

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gravityfallsrewritten · 2 months

Text

Chapter 11: I Always Have a Plan

"Guess what, we're broke."

"What?!" Y/n stood, flabbergasted at the way Stan casually dropped the information. She began thinking about the effects of being financially unstable. "What are we gonna do?"

Stan hummed inquisitively. "I have a business proposal."

"Go on."

"I'm thinking of catering to the kids. What do they like? Socializing and friendships. So the Shack is throwing a...?"

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "A party?"

"Yes, a party!" He exclaimed. "Thought it might be a good way for kids to spend money at the Shack."

Stan had already gathered his employees and assisted in converting the parlor area into a party area without even consulting with her. The twins had already purchased the decorations, Soos had acquired inexpensive cups and plates, and Wendy had obtained food. Perhaps it was the first time they complied with Stan's orders.

Y/n helped with setting up the chairs and the stage, while the twins and Wendy were goofing off. She was so busy adjusting a spotlight that she didn't hear Stan instructing the kids to use the copier machine in his office to copy the fliers.

Stan meant well, but he should have been communicating with Y/n about the Shack's items since she was the one who lived here first. He may have repaired the machine, but this was no ordinary copy machine. It's only a matter of time before the twins realize it's a cloning experiment.

Ford had tested it on Y/n because the machine could only copy that size, and it had worked. They'd taken advantage of it, using copies of Y/n as they helped around the house, whether cleaning, researching, or going to the store. Although it was painful to watch them disintegrate after the job was completed.

The twins came back with multiple copies of the fliers, making Y/n hum. Maybe it didn't work this time because it was so busted and broken? Maybe it worked as a normal copier machine now.

Stan had everyone lined up to assign them their duties. He held a clipboard as he read the names and their responsibilities for the party tonight. He let Soos be the DJ and the guy was ecstatic because it had been his dream to be the DJ.

"Wendy, you and Mabel are working on the ticket stand."

"What?" Mabel objected. "But Grunkle Stan, this party is my chance to make new friends!"

"I... I can work with Wendy," Dipper spoke, raising his hand.

Everyone went silent as they stared at him. Stan rolled his eyes. "You realize if you do, you gotta commit to staying at the ticket stand with Wendy. No getting out of it, just the two of you, alone, all night."

Dipper watched Wendy, Soos, and Mabel goofing off as they laughed without a care in the world, making him blush. "I promise."

Stan turned to Y/n. "How about you, you wanna work?"

"Is this a rhetorical question?" She replied with a small smirk.

"I'm letting you be the supervisor, I guess. Be the all-around person." Stan glanced at his clipboard again before walking off.

***

youtube

***

The night had finally arrived. Stan came out of the room, dressed differently from his work clothes. "Woah, you're really looking forward to this," Y/n noted once they met at the hallway. She was wearing a jean jacket with a graphic shirt underneath.

"Of course. I haven't been partying since I met Carla! This is the Shack's first party, and uh-" he shoved her shoulder playfully, "why don't you loosen up a bit?"

"I think I'm pretty relaxed," she retorted, stretching her arms a bit. "This party would benefit us. What a good idea, Stan."

"Oh, I'm full of good ideas, sweetheart," he replied without missing a beat. "Now why don't we go out there and let's have some fun for once, huh?"

Leading themselves to the party area, Soos was playing energizing music. Many people were already here, some were chilling around, some were already eating, and some were actually dancing. The two of them met Mabel at the top landing of the staircase where she was gazing at the crowd. She was wearing a loose hot pink shirt with an orange skirt, complemented by an orange bowtie on top of her hair.

"Can your uncle throw a party or what?" Stan said to Mabel. She smiled at him. "And if anyone wants to leave, I'm charging an exit fee for 15 bucks!"

Y/n chuckled. "Nice."

The music picked up its pace, and Mabel excitedly let out a squeal. "I gotta get myself on there! Come on, Y/n! Join me!" She grabbed her wrist without hesitation and they sprinted to the dance floor.

People should really start conferring to her first.

She did not, in fact, dance with Mabel. She only knows how to stomp her feet and bop her head to the music. Is that considered dancing? Just as the Northwest kin made her entrance and strutted up to the stage the moment Soos announced a party crown, Y/n decided to go to the refreshments table and get a cup of punch.

The Northwest family wields tremendous power in this town, owning nearly everything. Their power is undeniable, but they have a deeper history that no one knows about except Y/n and Ford. They discovered an enclosed document containing a code that they have yet to crack during their investigations.

She had two other girls on her tail, both wearing the same amount of make-up that was clearly illegal to put on a child's face.

Mabel walked up to the stage, too, and it looked like she made new friends. At least Mabel had that kind of power. She was so easygoing. It appeared that the competition was between Mabel and Pacifica and Y/n knew that this is where their rivalry would begin.

Soos announced the beginning of the party contest, playing a very lively song. Everybody hollered as the two dance-battled to the death. Pacifica looked practiced, scripted, as if she trained her whole life for this while Mabel's dance was spontaneous and carefree.

Y/n sipped from her paper cup, amused at the dances. So interesting that people can express their feelings through dancing. Stan's words echoed in her mind, "loosen up". She shook her head. She can loosen up in other ways than partying.

She scanned the crowd and noticed that Wendy was jumping up and down, dancing. Y/n tilted her head as she wondered who was with Dipper in the ticket stand since she was here. She walked outside after getting another fill of cranberry juice just as Stan reprimanded Dipper for trying to escape.

Dipper glumly walked back to the table, looking like he didn't wanna be there. She watched as he handled the tickets one by one, and as much as she wanted to help, she just didn't want to, seeing the line of people.

But alas, she can't get anything she wants, does she? Dipper noticed her and his eyes lit up. "Y/n! I need your help. Can you cover for me? I have to do something important real fast. I'll be back before you know it!"

He sprinted inside the Mystery Shack without saying another word. Y/n wanted to call him but her words died in her mouth. He left her with this line of kids. "Hey, you! Let us in!"

With a grumble, Y/n obliged albeit grimly, and began taking their money and putting it into the box. The kids were happy as they were being let in. The group walked inside, excited to party all night.

Meanwhile, Dipper stared at an entirely new clone of himself. "I have a really big head."

He climbed down from the copier machine, and his clone gazed back at him. "So... uh-" the two said in unison, making them laugh at the same time. "Sorry, you first." They echoed again. "Stop copying me!" They both burst in laughter at the cliche line. Original Dipper slapped his knee, and Dipper 2 wanted to follow until his elbow hit the corner of the box.

"AH! Ow, ow, funny bone." He hissed in pain just as Dipper wrote number 2 on his hat.

"I will call you Number 2!"

"Definitely not," Number 2 opposed, placing his fingers on his chin. "You know the name I've always wanted."

The two Dippers crossed their arms and smirked at one another. "Tyrone?"

With an enthusiastic smile, Classic Dipper began, "Okay, Tyrone, let's get down to business. You cover me at the ticket stand, while I ask Wendy to dance."

"I know the plan, buddy!" Tyrone said, just as spirited as Classic Dipper. Both at the same time, the two pulled out their long list of steps in order to spend the night with Wendy.

But as they were reading the plan, Dipper narrowed his eyes as he stepped back a bit. "Hey, we're not gonna get jealous and turn on each other like the clones in the movies, are we?" he asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"Dipper, please," Tyrone assured, smug, "this is you you're talking about. Plus, hey," he snapped his fingers, "you can always just disintegrate me with water." The two let out impressed sounds, tapping their temples.

Before the two could make their leave and go to their respective places, Classic Dipper pulled Tyrone back. "Oh, by the way, if Y/n is still there, she can help you with the ticket stand."

"Okay," Tyrone replied, feeling slightly worrisome. "But what if she gets suspicious of me?"

"Then, you can tell her. She's one of the few people who we can trust."

Tyrone strode out of the Shack and Dipper proceeded towards Wendy. He found Y/n accepting cash now that the line has calmed down a bit. There were still people, and she was ripping off a ticket just as Tyrone walked up to her. He cleared his throat and Y/n smiled up to him.

"You're back!" she smiled. "So what important stuff did you do?"

"Um, I just had to go to the bathroom, that's all," he replied, taking over the ticket ripping and handing it to her.

She took a good look at him. He was paler than usual, and instead of a pinetree on his hat, it was the number two. Inquisitively raising an eyebrow, she smiled. "Dipper, are you okay? You seem paler than when I last saw you."

He stuttered out a reply. "Uh, I just ran all the way here. I guess this is a sign that I'm... dehydrated?"

Y/n took another kid's money and placed it inside the box. Tyrone tore apart the next ticket and handed it to him. He glanced behind him to see Classic Dipper on the dancefloor, heading his way towards Wendy. He subtly gave him a thumbs up to which Dipper replicated the pose.

"So," Y/n spoke slowly, "what should I call you?"

Tyrone snapped his head towards her in shock. "I... what do you mean?"

"You don't think I'm that dumb to believe you're Dipper, are you?" she said, grinning. He was tripping over his words. "So, is it Clone Dipper? Dipper 2? Double Dipper?"

He chuckled, "No, Classic Dipper and I had this name that we always wanted. Call me Tyrone."

"Tyrone," she nodded as she smiled. "Nice name."

Suddenly, Tyrone's walkie-talkie rang and he picked up the call. Dipper was talking in the other line. "Tyrone! Robbie is here. We gotta get rid of him if I ever want to dance with Wendy!"

Y/n continued giving out the tickets while Tyrone was spacing out. "Hey," she bumped her elbow against his to wake him up. "Tyrone, you okay?"

He shook his head awake. "I just got a jealousy fantasy." He stood and faced the stained window where he got a glimpse of inside.

"I know-! Wait, did she just call you Tyrone-?"

"Do you have a plan?"

Dipper looked around the party until he saw Robbie's dirt bike on a kickstand. "I have an idea."

"I have the same one," Tyrone said, "but we're gonna need some help."

Y/n watched Tyrone as he dropped the device. "Are you gonna leave again?"

"Yeah, we have a plan to get rid of Robbie so he won't get in the way of Dipper wanting to dance with Wendy."

"What an elaborate plan for a sure-fire goal you got there, Tyrone."

He smiled, before taking off. He walked back inside while Y/n tended to the remaining customers. The last bunch of tickets were sold and the metal case sure was full of money. She held it up by its handle and decided to bring it to Stan's office since the boss himself was busy clapping for his great-niece.

Just as she opened the door, Dipper 3 and 4, along with the Original Dipper stood there. Tyrone was still sitting on Stan's desk.

The two of them shared eye-contact. "I can explain," Dipper said.

"I already know. Tyrone told me."

Her gaze averted to the second Dipper who was suddenly caught off-guard that he almost slipped.

Classic Dipper was slightly flustered. "Oh, so... are you not weirded out by any of this?"

"I've seen weirder stuff every day. Anyway, I just came here to drop this box of cash here in Stan's office," Y/n said, walking inside and placing the box beside Tyrone. "And I promise not to tell anyone."

Dipper smiled. "Thanks, Y/n. We're off to do the plan!" He, 3, and 4 all sprinted out of the office.

Y/n was standing there idly when she spoke, "Are you and Dipper any different? Like, do you share the same IQ, same EQ, same memories?"

He stared at her, speechless at first. "Um. Well, I don't know. We share the same hopes and dreams– and nightmares. I am literally a copy of him from this machine. I don't know how to figure out the difference."

"Your names are different."

Tyrone laughed, before it died down. He fiddled with his fingers as he remained seated. "Why aren't you out there, you know, partying?"

"Growing up, I was never really used to large crowds," Y/n replied, walking towards the copier machine, examining it. It looked so busted, but apparently it still worked. She turned to Tyrone. "Bright lights and slow dances with people... I just never got to experience it all my life. I have never been asked by anyone to go and dance."

Tyrone looked at her somberly. "Well, there's a first time for everything," he saw the way her lips pursed in hesitance, and her distant gaze was very prominent in her look. "Wait, I see what's happening here."

"What?" She was confused at his sudden inspection. "What's happening?'

He narrowed his eyes, and a grin slowly erupted. He pointed at her. "You want Dipper to ask you to dance!"

"What?! NO!" Flabbergasted, she stepped back. "I mean, getting asked to dance is an honor and all, but why specifically Dipper?"

Tyrone smiled widely. "I don't know, it's the way you got sad whenever Dipper and I talked about Wendy." He still had that smirk plastered on his paper face.

Y/n deadpanned. "So you and Dipper do have a difference," she said, deciding to leave the room.

"No, wait, wait!" Tyrone was giggling as he chased after her. He grabbed her shoulder. "You gotta help me first."

She turned around, raising an eyebrow. "With what?"

"You need to help me find more paper just in case we need more back-up..."

"Well, if you just used your eyes, you would have found them in a box here, Tyrone," Y/n chided playfully, going over to Stan's older desks. The box was beside the drawer. She lifted the lid and sarcastically presented him with a stack of old papers dusted with soot and cinders.

Tyrone rolled his eyes. "Okay, smartypants, I get it. Now, I need some assistance in loading the machine up with these papers...," he said slowly, probably feeling a bit bad about asking her too many favors.

But Y/n obliged. She collected half a stack of papers, went over to the copier and arranged them neatly inside the canister, but as she let go, her finger got caught by the sharp corners of the paper.

She pulled back to see that it was quickly spurting blood. "Hm," she hummed briefly.

"Oh no! Papercut!" Tyrone exclaimed and hurried beside her. "I gotta go get a med kit!"

"No need," she told him before he could leave. Tyrone couldn't stay still, watching her neutral expression. How is she so calm? Papercuts really sting! "Look," she said, and he gazed back at her bloodied finger. With a quick swipe on her denim jacket, she showed the finger again, and it was... "See? Nothing to worry about."

"It's... it's clean. H-how?"

Y/n looked at him seriously. "Promise not to tell anyone this?" Tyrone nodded. "Not even Dipper?" He nodded. "Well, I happen to not feel pain and have quick healing. That's it."

"That's it?!" He dared to mock. "Seriously, invulnerability? So you don't feel pain and can heal quickly?! That's so cool! But why are you keeping it a secret?"

"I..." how is she supposed to tell him without possibly hurting him? It's quite difficult spelling the words, 'she doesn't trust them... yet.' "I have to leave."

"Wait, don't go yet!"

Y/n shrugged. "I've made a mistake in telling you this, and now I'm disappointed."

"Don't leave! You haven't met my favorite Dipper yet!" Tyrone said.

"Huh?"

An unusual-looking paper Dipper crawled into the scene as Tyrone introduced him, "This is Paper Jam Dipper. The paper got jammed when trying to create Quattro, but I'm slowly growing on him."

Y/n stared at Paper Jam Dipper before he charged towards her. "NYANYANYANYA!" his voice was scratchy and screechy. He was clinging onto her, wrapping his arms around. "NYAAAA!"

Tyrone chuckled, crossing his arms. "Seems that he likes you."

Y/n wobbled, trying to carry around Paper-Jam Dipper. She grabbed its waist and pulled it off of her. This version of Dipper was very disoriented and discolored, and some parts were wrinkled and creased. It truly captured the look of a paper jam.

"Yeah, well, I like him too."

"Aw, but what about Dipper?" Tyrone teased, his hands held together as he pouted.

Y/n glared although there was a glint of playfulness in them. "You're seriously getting on my nerves, Tyrone."

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing," she said, "which is why I'm walking out on you."

Tyrone laughed. "Hey, I still wanna see you later!" He promised. "Y/n, wait." his smile disappeared a bit. Y/n waited for what he wanted to say. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I'll take your secret to my grave."

"Thank you," she said. It was genuine gratitude.

"And," he followed, "if Dipper's plan to ask Wendy to dance is a success, we can show up as, you know, back-up. Just- just in case anything goes wrong."

Smooth.

Y/n was left speechless. Where did this sudden boost of confidence come from? Tyrone is truly different from Dipper. "But I can't dance."

"I don't know anything about dancing either, but can we still try?" Tyrone smiled.

She stared up at him. Why is her heart suddenly reeling? Why is her mind going bonkers over this boy? Yet despite her mind telling her that she would just embarrass herself, her heart compelled her to say- "Okay."

"Okay? Woo! I never thought it would work. I didn't need that stupid overcomplicated list after all!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Stupid overcomplicated list?"

"Yeah. Classic Dipper has this elaborate plan to impress Wendy. Honestly hope it's going well for him."

As if on cue, Dipper slammed open the door. "Tyrone! Where were you, man? I need some help!"

Y/n decided to leave the room without even saying a word. He looked pretty out of his mind, so Y/n figured that she shouldn't even bother and let Tyrone console him. After all, the only person who can understand you is yourself.

Y/n realized that all those talking and giving out tickets had her thirsty therefore eyeing the punch bowl and getting herself another cup.

Meanwhile, Dipper stared at 7 mirror images of himself. Tracey and Quattro have yet to return. He was relieved to have so much assistance from people who shared his viewpoint. Of course, dancing with Wendy will necessitate careful consideration of the circumstances. There were numerous factors to consider, but thanks to the swarm of Dippers, everything had been taken care of.

"Now is the time," Classic Dipper said once they were all gathered. "Y'all are clear on what to do?"

They all nodded in unison. Everyone except for Classic Dipper and Tyrone marched out of the room and proceeded to the party area to do their roles.

Y/n watched from her chair as Dipper 10 flashed a dot on the wall, making Soos distracted. Then, her gaze shifted to numerous other Dippers around the room. She was confused, wondering if she was the only one seeing this.

The scene was set, the only thing missing were the dancers. Wendy was nowhere to be found, and Dipper has yet to make his entrance. When was his cue?

It had been a few minutes, and she could tell Dipper 10 was getting impatient. Soos was still having a good time, proclaiming that he will never get tired of dot, until Dipper 10 picked up his walkie-talkie and responded before returning upstairs.

Is Dipper going to be okay?

Yet instead of following him upstairs, Y/n averted her stare as she sipped from her drink albeit gloomily. Let him handle his own problems this time. She decided to just look forward to the dance that Tyrone promised her.

After being confronted by the clones and imprisoning him inside the closet, Dipper already wanted to escape and get to Wendy. The clones were arguing about who gets to dance with Wendy, and Classic Dipper took his chance and broke out silently until he was in the hall towards the party area where Wendy was standing.

"Wend-!" His words were cut off when pairs of hands covered his mouth and pulled him back inside where the clones were looking unimpressed.

"Come on, man. Give it up. You're overpowered," Tyrone said, crossing his arms.

Dipper flailed his arms frantically. "Hold on, guys, think about it. We're exact equals mentally and physically. If we start fighting, it'll just go on for infinity!"

As the clones agreed amongst each other, Dipper suddenly punched Tyrone in the face. Everyone stared at him in awkward silence.

Until someone from the crowd burst out, "CLONE FIGHT!" And they commenced, proceeding to brawl with each other. As the fighting lingered, Dipper crawled through the swarm and nearly got away. Unfortunately for him, someone noticed. "Hey! Classic Dipper's getting away!"

With a faux gentle aura surrounding him, he faced them as they saw the number 7 on his hat. Dipper softly reassured them. "No, friends. It's me, number 7."

They narrowed their eyes at him before reverting to the real number 7 who was pinned on the ground. He was thrashing around when he said, "That's not me, guys! That's not me!"

Another misfortune befell Dipper when the hat's plastered number 7 became unstuck, revealing the iconic blue pinetree. His pupils dilated as number 9 pointed at him. "Go get him!"

One by one, they all marched towards him. Dipper retreated further away. "Stay back," he said, rummaging through his pockets. He felt the party poppers inside and pulled it out. The clones had no signs of stopping so he figured he'd just scared them with the loud noises.

"Stay back!" He said it once more before pulling the string on the party poppers. It exploded with a loud POP and confetti fell out. The small explosion sent a waft of smoke up to the ceiling, setting off the smoke alarms, which led to the clones' demise.

The alarm rang loudly, triggering the sprinklers to release water hysterically. The Dipper copies expressed noises of disgruntlement and annoyance at this turn of events. Dipper watched as everyone– including Paper Jam Dipper– melted and died in front of him in relief.

"Huh, how about that." He casually placed his hands on his waist.

It wasn't over though when Tyrone was behind him all this time. "You!"

"Uh-oh."

The two went and engaged into a fight, determining who gets to dance with Wendy. But all their efforts seemed to be fruitless when they heard Wendy laughing loudly from across the room. Dipper and Tyrone stopped fighting and walked out to see what was going on. "Wendy?" they said in unison.

On the side of the dance floor, Wendy and Robbie were talking very discreetly, exchanging jokes that few shouldn't hear, but it made her laugh anyway.

Seeing as they will never have a slight probability now, the two Dippers let out a beaten sigh. "We blew it, man." They turned around and slid towards the floor.

They let a couple of silence pass, until Tyrone broke it. "I don't know, you wanna go grab a couple sodas or something?"

Dipper smiled, because that's exactly what he needed right now.

And ironically so, he knew the perfect spot.

Tyrone and Dipper were sitting on the edge of the roof, probably at the precise moment of realization. Wendy was a cool girl, and the way he was doing the overcomplicated list didn't help him make any progress with her.

Knowing that this is the only chance he can talk to himself without looking weird, he voiced out his thoughts. "Do you really think we'd have a chance on Wendy?"

"I don't know, man," Tyrone replied truthfully.. "Honestly the only time you didn't trip up over Wendy was when you didn't do anything in those list stuff."

"I know," Classic Dipper agreed. "Mabel was right, I do get in my own way."

"Literally!"

With that lesson learned, the two celebrated it over a sip of cola.

"Oh, boy," Tyrone said as he just realized. It was such an idiotic and depressing death as his body slowly melted from his stomach. "Don't look now..."

"Tyrone!" Dipper exclaimed, standing up.

"It's okay, dude. I had a good run," he replied rather somberly. He was looking forward to seeing her again, but it looked like he wouldn't have another chance. He's just going to leave it all to Dipper. "Hey, Dipper..." he called as his lower body disintegrated into liquid. "Y/n is a really cool person. I... I promised her... I promised her a dance..." His chin was now on the roof's shingles as his speech patterns sounded more slow and lazy. "Keep my promise, Dipper! For my sake..."

Tyrone completely perished, the only remains were liquid as it fell from the roof. The author felt a little bit of deja vu from this.

"Tyrone!" Dipper shouted again. With furrowed brows, he raised his own can. "You were the only one who understood."

***

Going down from the roof, he stood in front of the door. He peeked inside of the window, and there were Soos, Stan, Mabel dancing with her two new friends, Wendy, and Y/n. It seemed that Robbie the pest had finally flown away.

Dipper reached for the doorknob, but before he could grab it, he remembered the list from his pockets. He stared at it, with the huge text of Wendy Plan B in it. Finally, Dipper tore it apart and let it fall to the ground, dusting his hands. And all of a sudden, his pocket didn't feel as heavy anymore.

He opened the door, and was immediately greeted by his sister. "Dipper! Where have you been?! Meet my girlfriends!" She screamed on top of her lungs and she was surely louder than the music.

The two introduced themselves as Candy and Grenda, and only from that moment and his observation, Dipper already knew that they're a perfect trio.

He walked away and let them continue with the obnoxious dancing. He ventured to the side of the dance floor and glanced at Wendy who was just vibing with the music. Y/n was laying very comfortably on the couch, reading, and Dipper had to smile. How could she even concentrate with the loudspeakers?

She was very good at multitasking, he already knew that. While the music was blaring, she was comfortably reading with a bowl of marshmallows on her lap. Yet instead of using her fingers, she was using a fork to eat. What an etiquette.

Dipper cleared his throat loudly for her to hear. Y/n glanced up and scooted a space even before he got to ask if the seat beside him was taken.

He smiled a bit, eyes scanning throughout the parlor. Not even five minutes have passed and he already missed Tyrone.

The boy glanced to his left to see that Wendy was already gone from beside him. Did she go to the bathroom? Meanwhile, glancing to his right, Y/n was silently reading.

He really didn't want to disturb her. If it were him, he would be annoyed too if someone interrupted his summer reading. He cleared his throat again, and this time his voice cracked. "Uhm..." why does everything feel so itchy now? Did Tyrone unintentionally make things awkward? Or was it Dipper?

"Want a marsh?" His thoughts were awoken by Y/n's voice. It was a simple offer. A yes or no question.

"S-sometimes," Dipper wanted to smack himself in the head. "I mean, no thank you."

She shrugged, flipping a page and continued reading.

"What's that book you're reading?"

"Huh? Oh, just this random mystery book I picked from the local library," she replied, showing the cover. The Sunken Secret of the Spherical Spiral Staircase. "Have you read this before?"

"I... actually haven't," Dipper answered honestly. "

"Where did Tyrone go?" Y/n asked, her brows slightly furrowed. She thought he might've been hiding since clearly Dipper was here

He looked down on the ground. "He's..." he sighed. "He's gone."

"Oh," she muttered, mumbling. She adjusted her position so she was sitting more upright as she closed the book. "That's... very sad."

"Yeah," he sighed again. Suddenly he remembered Tyrone's last words. "You know, he said something before he- you know."

Y/n's eyes widened. "He didn't tell you about-?"

"He promised to dance with you?"

She wanted to smack herself right in the face (which was useless) for almost forgetting the promise. She completely thought that Tyrone spilled her secret about being invulnerable. Her cheeks suddenly flushed in embarrassment. "We're dancing now?"

"If you're okay with it."

Y/n looked at everything else except for Dipper. She then realized that they were being watched by Mabel, who was squealing with joy around her newfound friends.

"But I can't dance."

"Me neither, but we can try?" As he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back. Tyrone and Dipper were alike after all.

So she took his offered hand and they strutted to the dancefloor albeit awkwardly. Dipper pursed his lips and took her hand, just as everybody around them gasped, including Stan. Soos quickly changed the music into a slow-paced one.

Y/n literally have never danced with anyone before. This activity was foreign to her that she didn't know where to start. She might have seen glimpses of dancing when Stan was switching between channels on his TV, but she has never experienced it first-hand.

Yet, here she is.

She was a fast learner, that was one of her quirks. So when Dipper stepped forward, she stepped back, and vice versa. All the time, they were looking at their feet and how they moved in sync. They were unaware of the huge smiles growing on their faces.

"Woo! Go Dipper!" Wendy cheered from the side.

"You're such a natural, Y/n!" Mabel followed.

Somewhere up in paper heaven, Tyrone was proud.. Because not only did Dipper keep his promise to dance with Y/n, he also managed to do it without the help from his list. If he was still alive, he would tell him, "I told you so," with a huge grin.

***

"Dang, Y/n. Didn't know you had it in ya," Stan remarked, grinning.

"Please stop talking about it," Y/n deadpanned, slouching over the control board. "I don't wanna hear about it."

He sang a tune, dancing around like a madman. "Lalalala~" he spun throughout the room, eyes closed as he imitated the steps, until-

"OW!"

Stan rubbed the spot in his head where it was hit by a metal bolt. "Oops," Y/n chuckled. "Forgot you're not as invulnerable as me." She turned back to her desk. "Now can we please just focus? It was just a dance. Nothing else."

He didn't say anything else, but he knew. He recognized the expression and was at a loss for words. He had no idea what would happen, which made him nervous. "If you say so."

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 12!

MASTERLIST

RG RH LMOB Z NZGGVI LU GRNV FMGRO SVI SVZIG UVVOH HFYORNV

GSRH ZFGSLI WLVH MLG PMLD SLD GL ISBNV DSZG GSV SVXP RH HFYORNV

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lawyeronabike · 6 months

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Trash TV #1: UDY

Forgive me internet, for I have sinned.

Reality TV is a blight upon society, and we all know it. Yet I have fallen victim to watching the madness unfold. It's like watching a car crash, I can't turn away.

So let he/she/they who doesn't watch Kardashians, or Love Island, or The Bachelor, or any other form trash content that exists solely to appeal to our basest, most vile instincts throw the first stone

With that being said, let's talk about UDY.

Part 1: Introduction

If you believe their Youtube Banner, UDY stands for Underrated, Distinct, and Young. The channel has been going for nine years now, so we will see if they ever stop calling themselves young, or pulling juvenile pranks. For several years now, they have gained views and sponsors by performing "loyalty tests." This is where they take someone's girlfriend or boyfriend, and lure them under false pretenses to a location with hidden cameras, usually a luxury house that the team has rented. At that location there will be a "decoy" whose job is to get the mark to cheat on their partner. There may be all sorts of supporting actors playing friends, employees, photographers, or whoever may be needed to make the decoy seem credible and attractive.

UDY's strategy targeting men usually involves having women act very sexually aggressive, openly suggesting dates / hookups. Basically, can a man resist a woman throwing themselves at him?

The strategy targeting women is to have a man appear extremely wealthy (this makes renting a luxury house all the more essential). He throws around lots of money (fake money) to appear like a gazillionaire. Basically, can women resist an easy ticket to the good life with a handsome man and becoming a trophy wife?

The choice of strategy between the two sexes falls pretty neatly into unfortunate stereotypes. It seems to work well enough for their channel, as they have plenty of vidoes of people failing the test. I don't read too much into it though. Just like with all reality TV, I assume a heavy bias in target selection, editing, and publication. Cheating is the result they want, after all, who wants to watch a video a person not cheating on their partner, with no dramatic confrontation?

Part II: This Was A Bad Idea From The Start

Relationships require trust, and if you don't trust your partner, now it's just a bad relationship. One can make the argument that UDY is doing a service by doing these tests for suspicious couples, because they almost always break up in the end. Ending bad relationships is a net positive, but I'm not going to give them the credit.

These tests are impossible to truly pass. If the mark cheats, they fail. If the mark doesn't cheat, it means the didn't cheat this time. What about next time? Distrust cannot be fixed by a single test. Trust in a relationship is established over time. If you wanted to know if there are any pink elephants on earth, you would have your answer if you found even a single one. However, even finding a million grey elephants would not answer your question with certainty. With a large, randomized sample, you can show things statistically that you can't guarantee with certainty. However, attempting to do so with a sample size of one is scientific malpractice. It leaves the door wide open for comments like this.

So if you catch your partner cheating, you are heartbroken. Sometimes there's even an on camera confrontation which makes for juicy content. If they don't cheat, you are burdened not only with your suspicions that they are disloyal, but also the guilt of lying to and manipulating your partner.

Part III: Their Execution is Laughable

UDY's primary skills appear to be renting expensive houses, and hidden camera work. The other aspects of the operation are not nearly as smooth. Honestly, their blunders are some of the best parts for me, and I'll share a couple of my favorites here.

For sure the most outrageous screwup, one that they don't even acknowledged, was the fake law degree. For one test, the had they decoy play a successful lawyer, and put him in a very expensive house. Maybe my closeness with the law makes me particularly sensitive to this, but come on. Is that not the fakest diploma you've ever seen?

Look at it closely. It's so wrong I don't even know where to begin. I've never seen that embossed cap and scroll icon on the bottom before. It's missing tons of signatures, such as those of the president of the university and the governor. Also, the U.S. doesn't give out bachelor of laws degrees anymore. The law degree given to new lawyers at American universities today is the juris doctor, or J.D.

You don't have to be an expert in what degrees should look like to know that this is an obvious fake. The pièce de résistance is that we don't even know from where this degree purports to originate. There are 5 UC schools that grant law degrees. Alphabetically, they are, Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, LA, and UC College of the Law SF, formerly Hastings. Where exactly did he get his degree? The diploma doesn't say, which is the most obvious giveaway in the world. In short, I wouldn't be caught dead touching this piece of trash. It's like they didn't even try.

If somebody competent was running this operation, they would keep this obvious red flag as far away from the mark as possible. Which means you know that the crew at UDY placed it front and center. They conspicuously and suspiciously left it on the floor of the entryway, and even broke the glass to draw attention to it. Their actor even makes a comment in front of the mark to highlight the broken frame, "Four years of hard work down the drain." Law school is only three years.

Or who could forget the time they were supposed to be following their decoy, only to end up following the wrong car?

(I could go on, but you get the point)

Part IV: Crime?

For one harebrained scheme, they wanted to find out if a girl was actually broke, or if she had money and was just choosing not to pay back her friend. So they decided to do something perfectly reasonable. They lured her (and her car) to the target spot, sent her away (on foot), set up "No Parking" signs and arranged to have a confrontation between her and a tow truck driver WHILE HER CAR IS ON THE TOW HOOK. The theory is, if she can pay money to the tow truck driver to not have her car towed, she can pay back her friend some of the money.

Is it legal to put up fake "no parking" signs and start to tow a girl's car under that pretense? I'm not sure, ask a licensed attorney in your area before you try anything this stupid.

Pictured Above: Sergio doing what I can only assume can best be described as making life very difficult for his attorney.

Part V: The Enablers

So obviously, the viewers are partly to blame. The content machine will starve without eyeballs upon which it can feast. In my defense, I use adblock and sponsorblock (automatically skipping sponsor segments). This lessens my contribution. If you decide to watch content like this, I suggest you also use those browser extensions.

Then there are the sponsors who pay money for promotion in the videos. I'd like to single out Morgan and Morgan for public shaming.

Morgan and Morgan describes themselves as "America's Largest Personal Injury Law Firm." They have offices in all 50 states + D.C. and employ over a thousand lawyers.

I really hope saying this does not cost me a job down the line.

For one video, UDY made gave the decoy a backstory about how he was injurers at work, and was given a multimillon dollar settlement to better integrate with the M&M sponsorship.

Dear Morgan & Morgan. I know that client acquisition for personal injury cases is incredibly important, both to the firm and to those who are injured. I also know it can be a bit unsavory. The term "ambulance chaser" is used as a pejorative for a reason. I think sponsoring youtubers is pretty clever. Just don't choose UDY. These are the kind of people who impersonate lawyers (badly), are willing to commit crimes for a video (See Sergio's quote in the above screenshot, he's willing to tow a car even though he thinks it's illegal), and who have built their entire channel on exploits that harm us all. UDY makes society worse off. Please don't help them.

There are also feeble minded, insecure boyfriends and girlfriends who nominate their partners for these tests, and collude with the UDY team to allow them to be carried out. May you be single for the rest of your days.

Part VI: The Victims

The victims are the people being tested. Sure, they are more sympathetic when they don't cheat. But even when they do, it doesn't justify this.

Victim's privacy is given the bare minimum, and sometimes not even that. Standard protocol is to put an emoji over the victim's face, one that changes to convey emotion needed for the story.

(Yeah dude, that's an understatement)

We do know their partner's name, as well the the general area where the tests take place (Los Angeles area). Often times the test includes details about what kind of job the mark has, and that is incorporated into the test (e.g. a model comes over for a fake modeling shoot). Personal details, like where the mark is from, are sometimes left in. It doesn't seem unlikely to me that somebody could recognize the partner who initiated the test, the figure out who the mark is.

Names appear not to be kept confidential even in the event that the mark fails the test. In the most recent video, we hear the mark introduce herself, so it's clearly not a fake name.

All of this culminates, usually in a confrontation scene. Whether the partner confronts a cheater or the mark confronts the fact that they've been gaslit for this test, it's usually not pretty. Anybody who's had cameras shoved in their face knows that it can be very disorienting. UDY doesn't care. The drama is the point. They film whether you want them to or not.

(This was taken after the mark went outside to get away from the cameras and repeatedly requested to talk without cameras present)

Part VII: Conclusion

Imagine taking some of the most advanced technology mankind has ever created: tiny cameras and microphones, advanced computers for editing, and and the internet for distributing, and using it all to blow up relationships for the amusement of the masses. It is a cynical, heartless creation, and we are all worse off for its existence.

For me, UDY's relationship testing is a true low point in prank / reality TV.

My favorite kind of reality TV is the kind that implodes in on itself. My favorite kind is where the joke is not on the mark, but on the producers of the show themselves. When people try to make a spectacle in bad faith, and instead become the spectacle. It is the justice they deserve. There's some of it in their episodes, but not nearly enough. It's something I hope to be able to explore further in future entries in Trash TV.

#youtube #reality tv #relationship #relationships #money #fame #loyalty #trash tv

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abysscronica · 2 years

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Anime Expo 2022!

Hey guys! As many of you already know, I've been to this year's Anime Expo in Los Angeles this July. I wanted to share my experience with you guys, hoping someone will find it useful if they want to attend themselves, or just fun to read.

I'll also talk about the overall organization and the pros and cons of the festival.

Note: this is a long-ass post, so if it's too much for you but you're still interested in the topic, please skip to the very last paragraph because it sums up what was the most important to me & my feelings about the experience.

Anime Expo (AEx) is one of the biggest anime cons in the world, and it takes place annually in Los Angeles. After two years of suspension (COVID, of course) it came back this year with tons of guests and panels.

Despite this being my first time attending such an event in US, I'm no stranger to big cons. In fact we have an even larger festival in Italy (Lucca Comics & Games) that I've attended multiple times and served as my frame of reference for AEx (I've been to minors ones around Europe as well).

AEx lasts 5 days, and I highly recommend buying a ticket for the whole con. If I remember correctly, the price for one day is 70 dollars, whereas the price for 5 is 140 (+taxes), and 70 bucks for one day are just... not worth it in my opinion.

If you don't live in US, or you buy your ticket late, you cannot have the badge shipped. So the day before it started, we went to get our badge and activated it (the badges are personal and used to check in and out of the con every day). There were a lot of people but the lines were actually quite fast. We also had to do a different line to show our proof of vaccination/negative covid test to get a plastic bracelet that was needed to enter for the whole duration of the con.

But... they didn't actually check our proof of vaccination. At least when we went there, the employees (or volunteers, I'm not sure) were actually just putting the bracelet on anyone without checking any document. Theoretically masks were mandatory inside the con, but this rule was also hardly enforced. So it was covid-safe only on paper.

The first day I was SO FREAKING EXCITED I forced my friend to wake up super early so we could be there just in time.

AEx is basically structured with a few key halls: one for the merchandise, the exhibition hall (cosplays + games & gaming area), and the artist alley. They have TONS of stands and booths and they become extremely crowded. Every one of these is as big as several football fields. Here's my hot take on them:

Merchandise. Noooot particularly worth it. Compared to other cons, the merch is overpriced and not very diverse. You don't really find little rare, obscure things, it's more the same main things over and over. Funko pops everywhere, Pika chu plushies, Luffy's strawhat... the same stuff has different prices according to the stand, so if you see something you like, I advice you take a look around before buying it, especially if it's something somewhat mainstream. My suggestions is to aim to official booths (ex. Toei) to get official merch, possibly exclusive or early releases.

For example, I've got a con-exclusive Law's funko:

I paid 17 dollars, just to find it at 12 in another stand 20 mins later.

I also got the One Piece x Nyan volume 1 collection from the official Toei OP booth, which is extremely difficult to come by outside Japan:

But that's about it. Normally I get a lot of stuff at cons, because they have good deals or you find figures that never show up online, but for AEx, this was not the case. If you believe it, I found more specific things in Little Tokyo (a mini Kamazo figure!) than AEx.

Artist alley is much more original, but it's mostly posters, pins, and jewelry. I would suggest to buy more stuff here because it's unique and you'd be supporting small artists.

As for the Exhibition hall, I'm not much of a gamer, so we didn't spend a long time there, but my friend got some pretty sweet deals for merch for LoL or Genshin Impact. There was also a stage were I think fan-made plays were happening? Unfortunately they were not noted in the official program, we realized too late that most of the info is actually given through the app, so we missed a few things. I know that at some point there was a re-acting of Yu-Gi-Oh first episode, slutty musical style, where Seto Kaiba repeatedly called himself a bad bitch. I MEAN WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT I LOVED IT OH MY GOD!!

Anyway, if merch, games and cosplay is all you're after, then a one-day ticket is enough to explore the majority of what AEx has to offer, but then I actually recommend go to some other anime festival, because you can find better stuff.

What really makes AEx are the panels and the events. So every night you have to check the schedule for the following day and plan your visit.

There are panels happening all the time, in various rooms, and remember that each one has a line that will require you to get in at least 30 mins before. This timing depends on the popularity of the panel. For very popular panels or main events, you may have to get in line 2 to 3 hours before, or you won't be able to enter.

That's a very important thing, be prepared to spend A LOT of time queuing up.

We've gone to countless of fan-organized panels that were a lot of fun: from workshop on how to create a kaiju cosplay, to a trial-like debate for controversial characters (ex. Sasuke Uchiha, Chrollo, Doflamingo). We had a blast. Some ended up being boring (explanation for the tarots in Persona 5, sounded cool but was meh).

We randomly entered "Guess the Pokemon" (even if I only know Gen 1, lol) aaaand were surprised to find Jason Paige there (he's the original singer for the American Pokemon opening)! He not only sang the song, but he also took a selfie with us!! ❤️

Then I very smugly entered the "guess the opening" contest, and the best ranking I was able to achieve in the course of one hour was 100th (out of around 250 people). So I humbly but not so graciously accepted my defeat. 🥲

As for the main events, the biggest stage was reserved for official sponsored shows/interviews with guests from oversea. They had quite a few voice actors from both USA and Japan. I was able to assist to a Q&A with the original producers of Ranking of Kings, AND the voice actor of Tanjiro from Demon Slayer!!

THEN I managed to get into the official One Piece Red event (by lining up 3 hours before). RogersBase hosted the interview with the Japanese producer. 🤩 Then the American voice actors for Shanks and Brook joined in. It was simply amazing.

One of the panels I enjoyed the most was a smaller one though, the One Piece DnD live session, mainly because I often follow the series on youtube. It's DM'd by Rustage, and the players are Tekking101, Briggs, 2Spooky and Lost Pause. They were funny af, and all so terribly nice. They spent a long-ass time signing autographs and taking pics with the fans before and after the panel.

Which brings me to my next topic: it's possible to meet content creators walking around the con! There are a lot, and most of them go about their day there like any other fan. But between the facemasks and the amount of people, it's hard to recognize them or even walk into them. (keep in mind that the biggest anitubers like the trio from Trash Taste are basically treated like VIPs, you won't likely find them walking around among common mortals).

For some miracle, I met Tekking, who is my favorite youtuber. I knew he was around but as soon as I saw what was the setting, I realized it would be almost impossible to actually see him. And then BOOM, we caught him chilling by himself outside where we were also chilling to catch a break. 😂 I was so excited & nervous it was actually my friend who walked up to him.

Tekking was SUPER nice! He talked to us for a few minutes, we took a pic, and he even said "thank you for being a fan", and I was like 😭😭😭 why you so precious 😭😭😭 thank you for the amazing content!!

I also met Rustage the last day! He was walking by us, and I went like "OH, RUSTAGE!" without even thinking. He was also WAY TOO nice, he stopped to talk to us for a while, and this was shortly after he hosted a panel AND spent at least one hour taking pics with fans, so he must've been super tired. But because of the sudden interaction, my brain was so bugged I told him he shouldn't put pineapple on a pizza. I wanted to be swallowed by darkness, but he's way too cute to be human and laughed it off. 😫

I am SO SO grateful I had the chance to interact with such amazing content creators, people I watch on yt all the time and often cheer my days up when I'm down. ❤️

After 8 pm, the 18+ panels start, so you have to get a separate bracelet to attend by showing your ID. There are some parties, like Steve Aoki's concert with anime music remix, which unfortunately we couldn't attend because the tickets were sold out. Then there was the stand-up comedy night, super f*cking funny. Then there's stuff like yaoi, hentai, shipping panels.

AA. the last day actually finishes around 4 pm and a lot of stuff is over or sold out, so never get a one-day ticket for it, it's definitely not worth it.

Another important recommendation from my side is bring your own food. There is an embarrassing low number of food stands, so the lines are absolutely awful. I'm talking 3-hr-long lines to get a sandwich or a bobba tea. There was ONE shop selling coffee for like 100k people, you do the math.

I have no idea why they didn't take more contractors for food and drinks, there was plenty of space they could've occupied. That is an unsolved mystery for me.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the cosplayers! There were MANY, from shitty to astonishing. Here's me chilling with Ulti and Page One:

Alright, I think I touched upon all the things I wanted to share! I forgot something for sure, so I might do some satellite posts later on. Feel free to ask anything!

Overall, it was an AMAZING experience. It's like being izekai'd into a magical world of dreams filled with like-minded people. Everyone is excited, enthusiastic and ready to make friends. You will receive random compliments (a girl actually complimented the smell of my body spray??). A giant pikachu will hit on you (true story). You'll have the chance to meet creators you love. EVERYONE is free to express themselves, you wouldn't believe the amount of cross-dressers and LGTBQ+ people around, it filled me with joy to see how much of a safe space that was! So prepare your cosplay or those gadgets you love but never get to wear in your everyday life and take a break from reality! ESPECIALLY if you're in your early twenties and live around LA, this is a chance to make a huge amount of friends and living your best life.

#anime expo #anime expo 2022 #ax2022 #anime convention #tekking101 #rustage #one piece

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