#there is no need to invent things when they themselves beg to be expressed <3

[darlingpwease]

(i will)

Is that a promise??? /hj

But if Shokan does want to join in, I can't help not minding :))

do you like being called a fox?

Well I've never been called one before, but I don't mind it :))

let me <3333

Jesus, don't say that-- now I really want to bite... <3 /pos

it's not a compliment if it's true, dear;

whose ideas I really like </3333

You TEASE!! You tease you tease!!! What do I do with you!!

-panna cotta

it was a threat, but we can consider it a promise, honey /pos /hj

no, of course, if Shokan wants to join, then I'm powerless, — but I won't let you lead him astray!!! don't cover your tempting nature with these "it's his choice"!!!

shgdhdgdgd everyone can see your fox tails </333 and these attempts of Shokan to indulge you </3333 you cannot be united together, it will be a catastrophe of universal scale </33333 /hj

are you not??? haven't people ever told you what a sly and teasing handsome foxbun you are??? strange people.

however, at first I also thought you were the quiet sweet panna cotta until I saw the real nature and realized that there was nowhere to run </33 you know how to be charming, honey, no wonder everyone just closes their eyes </333

right, honey? kissing is cool — but there are bites!!! bites!!! kisses are short-lived and imperceptible, bites are bright and at least for a few days!!! no one will notice the kisses if it's not lipstick, but when they see the bites, people will immediately understand that something happened!!! if you bite toge or yuuta, they will walk with your mark!!! cute marks on the skin!!! bites are not scratches, you can't get them by accident or say something like "I was bitten by a joint" or a ladder!!!

choose bites!!!

hrhrhr no kink shaming </333

of course you want bites, panettone; then why do I keep doing all this if I don't make you give up <3 /t /pos

no you!!!

no <3

I speak sincerely and with feeling, knowing that I am saying the most truthful things and from the bottom of my heart; definitely not teasing you, dear. how can you tease a sweet bun like you.

what did you say? "blushing easily"? such a pity <333 such a pity that they rarely tell you what interesting things you write and how nice it is to read you; I'm still rereading and hoping to end, but I just feel that I'm not enough all the time, as if I'm getting sucked in when I read what you write <333

such a cute thing, deserving of a nice and comfortable box in some cute nest, mmm? handsome panna cotta <3333 handsome smart panettone, even if such a loving tease — it's hard not to like someone as sweet and heart-melting as you <3333

not compliments, but a statement of fact. am I teasing? I'm only telling the truth.

[meredithstanien]

jazzalil is a GOOD COUPLE

they’re not poorly written you guys are just mean!

thesis: they were written specifically to compliment each other!

zazzalil is very inventive but overly reckless and doesn’t consider the consequences of her actions. jemilla is caring but overly cautious and worries a lot about everyone’s safety. they both care about the betterment of the tribe. zazzalil says “i just wanted to make life better” after getting yelled at for putting them in danger, and jemilla tells everyone that they have to be working to “get ahead” and make the tribe better. however, they go about achieving this goal in very different ways. jemilla feels responsible for the tribe (as she should, that’s why she’s a good leader) so she doesn’t want to put them in danger, thus she has them doing safe “research” even though it ends up being basically useless in terms of making their lives better. zazzalil has none of that feeling of responsibility, so she can do essentially whatever she wants. she can see the things that will truly make the tribe better, but she doesn’t understand consequences and ends up putting herself and others in danger with things like hunting snarl.

jemilla obviously cares very much about zazzalil! she continuously warns her about the danger of her actions and stops her from hurting herself and others (ex. she stops her from stabbing keeri and tries to keep her from going after snarl). she ran out into a dark stormy night to stop her! that’s a lot for any person to do! jemilla is doing this out of concern for zazz’s best interests. she very clearly expresses this when she says “i did it for you, zazzalil” in jemilla’s lament. zazzalil just doesn’t see that all of this is meant to keep her safe, she just thinks that jemilla is trying to smother her. zazzalil doesn’t realize until jemilla is gone and everything comes crashing down. she can’t see the disaster that jemilla prevented until she wasn’t there to stop her from making bad decisions! after she realizes that, she goes out to find jemilla, begs her to come back, and literally offers to marry her. that is pretty gay! it took awhile for zazz to realize that she cares about jemilla and that jemilla is an important person in her life, but she got there eventually.

when people write things, everything is there for a reason, and jemilla and zazzalil were written to compliment each other. jemilla is cautious enough to keep zazzalil from doing dumb and dangerous things, and zazzalil is adventurous enough to get jemilla to take risks and try new things. the show demonstrates that neither of them are super effective leaders on their own (although jemilla is admittedly the better of the two) but when they’re working together they can solve difficult problems. under jemilla, the tribe is safe but makes little to no real progress towards a better life, and under zazzalil, the tribe briefly has a better life, but eventually ends up destroying themselves. however, when they’re together, they can defeat snarl and save everyone. there’s a whole song about how amazing they are together!

i know the biggest problem everyone has with jazzalil is how rushed it seems. they don’t actually get together and become a couple until the last 20-30 minutes of the show. but in a 2 hour show, that’s a good 25% of the time. but everything is going to feel a little rushed when you have to fit a whole story into a 2 hour period (that’s why plays in the 1800s were like, 3+ hours long). they’re also basically enemies for a good portion of the show and seem like they hate each other. however, they clearly cared for each other (ex. all of the second paragraph) and their character arcs and love story focused on their realizations that they need each other. as they realize that they care about each other and work better together, they develop as characters, with their eventual resolution being marriage. if you look at it on the surface, it does look like both of them did a total 180 and switched from hating each other to loving each other, but the clues were written in along the way in order to set up for their eventual relationship.

TLDR; jazzalil is actually a really well written relationship and they compliment each other as people! it was set up along the way, and not just a random twist that was used as a plot point!

((please be nice i’m basically rambling because i love jazzalil so much, i have not proofread this at all. i am simply putting this out into the world because i love firebringer and jazzalil))

[randomrainman]

american conservatism and the minds of people: a black man’s perspective.

Hi, it is I.

I often think long and hard about the mind states of the people around me, and my inevitable conclusion is that the vast majority of people are monumentally and irrevocably fucking stupid.  As it turns out, people have a really hard time letting go of things with which they have grown familiar or fond, and therein lies the basic principle of conservative thought.  

“But aren’t some things okay to keep?”

Well, obviously, not everything needs to be thrown out in order for improvement to occur.  In the Army, we have things labelled “sustains” and “improves”.  The two terms are pretty self-explanatory (as are most things in the military): sustains are the things that work, and the improves are the things you either completely nix or need to, erm, improve.  Of course, this begs a question: as it relates to a society of living, (mostly) breathing human beings, how does this apply?

"Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water,” it is commonly said.  I am not entirely sure who was throwing away bathing children, but that’s a discussion for a different time.  The baby in this idiomatic expression is whatever it is we are supposed to be maintaining.  Let’s start with an example: police.

Obviously, it is entirely infeasible to literally abolish police.  We absolutely need the police force as an institution, and good and effective policing is a pillar to a modern, functional society.  However, we can abolish unprofessional, unnecessarily violent, racist, or otherwise unbecoming behaviour from police departments, and also demonstrate that such things are intolerable and met with appropriate punishments every time these rules are broken.  NWA didn’t make “Fuck The Police” because they wanted to express interest in having thoroughly arresting cop sex; it exists because they don’t trust the police.

Above: An Autistic Swedish dude spitting shockingly accurate commentary-by-proxy about American society. Flames!

Due possibly in part to dubiously worded slogans such as “defund the police”, modern conservatives balk at the thought of changing anything of significance about how policing in many communities in the United States is conducted, even going as far as to label the reform for which we call as an attack on the very idea of police.

That said, historically, the very pillars of police forces in the United States have their foundations in slavery and post-slavery racist institutions, which means that, while much has changed on the surface, the way police implement policy reflects structural and societal racism.  As a result, simply attacking individual instances of misconduct will almost always fail to elicit any meaningful progress, which is why some do seek to dismantle police departments (an option I cannot fathom as being realistic, especially not in the short term). 

The lack of a centralised police organisation from which to implement policy certainly does not help, and while some police departments, to include the Department of Justice itself, have introduced implicit bias training, it would appear that change was difficult to measure. Additionally, many police departments have not addressed the more overt problem of explicit racism in law enforcement, which is a nigh-impossible thing to tackle expeditiously without a top-down structure to deal with it. It has improved steadily overall, however, but not without significant disapproval...

Pictured: “disapproval”.  A civil rights demonstrator is attacked by a police dog in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963. (Photo credit: AP)

The Origins

As I noted earlier, there is plenty of shit people want to keep, and most for relatively understandable reasons -- after all, those things provide a sense of familiarity.  “It’s always been this way -- why change it?” they ask.  One needs only to look at our, um, flowery history to see countless examples of things that required change...

The transatlantic slave trade transported up to 12 million forcibly enslaved Africans to the Americas, many of whom arrived in what is now the United States.  As unspeakably horrifying as the actual journey was, this was only the beginning of the tribulations that would befall the slaves and their descendants in the future.

While Europeans played a large part in introducing the idea of race-based caste systems into colonised lands, the American brand of discrimination is different in the fact that the idea that Blacks and Native Americans were genetically inferior to whites was endemic to our inception, and thus, formed the basis of the things enshrined into American democracy.

Photo credit: Alexander Gardner / Wikimedia Commons

Abraham Lincoln entered the chat.

Naturally, having someone even so much as threaten the idea of racial dominance after literal fucking centuries of treating Black people as property did not sit well with the slave-owning populace (even if Lincoln’s motives were not exactly altruistic).  While the Southern states did in fact operate an agrarian economy heavily dependent on chattel slavery, it was that notion of superiority combined with societal comfort they felt that ultimately catalysed the secession of the Southern states from the Union...

Pictured: Civil War reenactors (from the Confederate side) simulate the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest battle in US history.  Also, why the fuck is Civil War reenactment a popular thing to do? It’s deeply weird. (Photo credit: MPRNews.org)

...and then they decided to have the deadliest fucking war in American history over that comfort.  Spoiler alert: the Confederates lost both the war and their precious bullshit institution of slavery -- but even after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, many Southern slave owners did not even pass the news of freedom to their slaves for months.

In keeping with the preservationist and racist mindset which occupied most Southerners’ brains, any attempt to integrate Black people into society during the Reconstruction period was stymied at every turn.  To them, despite Black people being de jure full citizens in accordance with the Civil Rights Act of 1866, we were still subhuman.  Due to Jim Crow laws, Ku Klux Klan terrorism, and other assorted nonsense, we made virtually no progress toward equality until the Civil Rights Movement and resulting laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

“Well, you got what you wanted!  YOU’RE EQUAL!  Quit yer bitchin’!”

Ah, if only things worked that way in real life.  As previously noted, even if things are codified into law as changes, there are still people who try really hard to keep everything exactly the fucking same, so it does not end up happening in practice.  Things such as residual effects of redlining and continuing disproportionate and excessive imprisonment of minorities, amongst other issues, still affect people in the present day. In other areas, people exploit loopholes in order to lawfully discriminate against others they might deem “undeserving”.

Lots of things, especially when it comes to role of minorities in society, have historical precedents.  When arguing said precedents with conservative types, the conversation almost always leads to one of several (predictable) conclusions: the person believes that 1) negative historical events (e.g., slavery, Native American genocide, etc.) were not that bad; 2) those things did not happen at all; or 3) those things were bad, but somehow do not affect modern society.

Obviously, all three are emphatically wrong.  This is why typical conservative behaviour, even in this modern era in which information sharing is instantaneous, does not surprise me: often, the rhetoric is not rooted in reality, and often resorts to appeals to emotions to elicit a knee-jerk response.  This is not to say that this does not occur on liberal ends of the spectrum, but modern conservative rhetoric is rooted primarily in unjustified fear of change and anti-intellectualism.

Pictured: A screenshot I took of someone on a pro-President Biden post desperately trying to be oppressed.

This kind of shit is utterly exhausting.  Neoconservatism, in a nutshell, is people literally inventing problems and subsequently getting angry at their own creations.  It is the equivalent of setting up a bear trap, immediately stepping in it, and wondering why the fuck you’re stuck in said bear trap and your foot doesn’t work anymore. During the Obama administration, the only thing I would witness is people insisting (without any evidence, of course) that President Obama was the Antichrist and that he would usher in the New World Order and take everyone’s guns.  All zero of those things happened, of course, but when Donald Trump assumed the presidency, the rhetoric completely reversed, and he was named “God’s chosen" by evangelical figures, despite him having broken perhaps all of the Old Testament’s Ten Commandments.  Of course, as you can see with the above screenshot, clearly, they have returned to the Obama bitching method, but diminished, partially because President Biden is also an old, white male, and they don’t need to ask where he was born.

Pictured: what happens when you fuel millions of self-victimising people with QAnon conspiracy theories and possibly loads of Bang energy drinks.  Photo credit: ABC News

The hypocrisy is absolutely palpable amongst these types of people, and if I tried to sit here and continued to provide examples of conservative figures contradicting themselves, I would die either of old age or myocardial infarction, whichever happened first. The difference in the reaction to Black Lives Matter protests versus the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 makes the double standard quite transparent: justice and equality, while technically codified into law, are clearly are not administered equally in modern-day America.  We’re still not like the others.

Our brand of conservatism, by and large, is the enemy of those two very important American ideals.

|the kid|

[bastionkeeper]

I feel bad for my lack of updates lately so....

Here! I wrote this in @nonbinarydisaster ‘s dms because we were talking about an rk1k wedding, I neatened it up as much as my exhausted brain let me but it’s still very much a rough fic, regardless I offer it up to you readers for staying loyal during my hiatus <3 enjoy!  Full story under read more! Warning for vague descriptions of coatroom sex ;)

EDIT: forgot to mention but Nathan is what we call Nines and Serenade is an old oc from a different fic

“So, you freaking out yet?”

Connor turned to Hank, stopping with his constant struggle against the bow-tie that won't sit straight and the mirror that shows off every flaw of his suit. His partner was leaning in the doorway with a glass in hand, eyeing him up with a smile. Connor decided to deflect.

"Drinking already?" he asked, turning back to the mirror and fussing over his bow-tie again. "I'm not even married yet and you're already celebrating."

"It's a coke," Hank said, rolling his eyes. "But I'll be hitting that open bar as soon as you say 'I do' make no mistake about that."

Connor smirked, trying to fall back into the classic Hank and Connor banter instead of thinking about saying 'I do.'

"You're definitely freaking out, stop that," Hank sighed, setting his glass aside and slapping Connor's hands away from his tie. He straightened it effortlessly, and moved on to the rest of Connor's suit running his hands over it to smooth it out. "You look fine, Connor."

"I'll be having words with the tailor," Connor huffed.

"And those words will be 'thank you for dealing with my constant pestering,'" Hank said. "You're just nervous, the suit is fine. Lay off it before you work it to shreds."

Connor sighed and took a seat in a nearby chair. He could hear North and the others setting up downstairs, the balcony hid none of the sound even if the curtains hid the reception hall from sight. Connor is tempted to pull back the curtains and watch everyone work, but North gave him strict orders to stop bossing them around and go relax before the ceremony. He was supposed to be having a drink and taking some deep breaths, instead he was staring at his reflection and trying not to bolt.

"What if he deserves better than me...?" Connor said, wringing his hands and looking up at Hank with hunched shoulders and an uncertain gaze.

"S'not about deserve," Hank said, taking a sip of his drink. "He's stuck with you now, and he's happier for it. If you're both happy then stop worrying about deserve and just get on with it."

"As always, your advice brings me relief and confusion," Connor replied dryly, causing Hank to laugh.

"Kid, you've got a good thing here," he said. "Don't ruin it with fear. Just remember, you two have known each other years now. This day isn't a big deal, it's not even 'making it official' it's just a party and some words..."

"And an open bar," Connor remarked, earning another laugh.

"You two are together already, and this day is nothing more than a celebration of the fact," Hank said. "Just ignore all of us and tell him how you feel, alright?"

Connor takes a deep breath, feeling his overworked systems cool as he nods. "Thanks, Hank."

"Hey, it's what a dad's supposed to do when his kid gets married."

Connor heard Hank get choked up at that, and looked at him curiously. He saw Hank quickly wipe at his eyes and the sight made Connor beam.

"Are you...?"

"No, fuck you," Hank sniffed. "I'm gonna go get another fucking soda. I'll see you down there."

Connor let him go express his feelings in private, feeling bolstered by the teary eyed paternal joy.

When North comes to get him, bring him to his place, his anxiety is greatly lessened. It's still there of course, it stays with him the whole while Hank leads him up the aisle to wait for Markus's approach. It only vanishes when he sees him.

Markus looked good in clothes he fished out of a junkyard, so of course he looks breathtaking in an eight hundred dollar tux. Connor forgot himself for a moment and rushed down to meet him halfway, and only realized what he was doing when the crowd rumbled with laughter at his hurried kiss to Markus's temple. He blushed, but Markus laughed and kissed his hand, and then it was just the two of them again.

Markus held Connor's hands and promised him his love, his attention, and to stop splattering him with paint when he's in his good clothes. Connor promised Markus his love, his protection, and to lay off the schedules. A little bit. A slight reduction of about 13%

. Markus laughed a lot, his mismatched eyes crinkling in mirth and everytime he laughed Connor lost himself a little to this man he was going to be with forever. When they're told to kiss, Connor doesn't need to be asked twice. He dips Markus, who is clearly surprised by the passion, but gets his revenge by dipping Connor right back. Connor hears Hank and North wolf-whistle and sees Simon crying and clapping when they pull apart.

"I love you... so much," Markus breathed into his ear, something just for them to share.

There's a lot of applause, and eventually the wedding party all trails out. Nathan took his best man duties very seriously. It didn't matter that Connor never assigned one best man, just asked Nathan and Hank to be there for him (Markus claimed North or else she'd be on his side too), in Nathan's mind it was his job to part the crowd of well-wishers and get Connor and Markus to their table. He might have stood there like a bodyguard all night if Simon hadn't dragged him off to their table.

"Would you like something to drink, Mr. Manfred?" Markus teased. Connor tilted his head.

"I think I would, Mr. Anderson."

They had never decided on abbreviating or just keeping things as they were. Considering last names were a novelty for androids anyway, they had the luxury of time to decide.

Markus, as it turns out, didn’t even need to go get drinks because North kept the champagne and thirium coming with dutiful attention to their empty glasses. Connor also spotted her and Hank making mixed drinks of their own invention whenever they thought Connor was not looking, dumping mini bottles into already potent glasses. Connor let them have their fun, maybe it was the champagne making him dizzy or maybe it was Markus's hand on his leg but he couldn't really seem to care about anything but the man at his side right now.

They dance, and it's all careful programmed steps and showing off for the crowd. When they're alone they let their bodies move as they will, but both Markus and Connor like the way people ooh and aah at how they can move with precision and grace so they put on a little show.

The dance floor quickly fills up, Hank takes North for a spin and Connor is surprised to see Nathan is convinced to dance at least three times by Simon, Markus, and Serenade. He shoots his brother a smile, and is pleased to see him scowl back with a faint blush as each dance partner makes him loosen up and have fun for once.

Hank managed to give a speech with minimal tears, though he did wave his glass around a lot. North cut in on his time, stealing the microphone and calling Connor "her main bitch" and Markus "the best ex turned friend a bot could ask for." Connor pretended to boo them away, pleased at the middle fingers they flashed him and embarrassing stories they told. Nathan gives a much more formal speech, but by the end of it he's crying a little and Connor has to come hug him until he's less overwhelmed. Nathan holds him tight and swears a Hankish amount of times.

Eventually, Markus's hand on his leg grew higher and higher, and both androids found themselves flush with alcohol and newlywed passion as they snuck off to be alone.

"And where do you think you two are going?" North asked, making them both jump with surprise in the nearly empty hallway.

"...breath of fresh air?" Markus says just as Connor says "looking for Hank."

"Hank's sobering up in the bathroom," North said, jerking her head in the direction of the coat closet.

"So, you better take that instead. I'll play lookout for exactly fifteen minutes and then I'm going back to drinking the old man under the table."

Connor doesn't care whose coats they're sending scattering to the floor when he pushes Markus up onto a counter. He pulls his husband's tie free with his teeth and... oh, his husband. He likes the sound of that.

They make love, Markus with a hand over Connor's mouth to keep him quiet, both of them grinning like idiots when they aren't pressing kisses to exposed skin or gasping for breath.

Connor remembers saying "mine now," a few times, much to Markus's delight. He's embarrassed post orgasm, but Markus just laughs and peppers his face in kisses.

"And you have the papers to prove it," he ribbed playfully while Connor covered his face.

"It's the champagne talking," he groaned.

"I sure hope it's not, Mr. Manfred," Markus said, kissing Connor deep.

"We've used up our fifteen minutes, Mr. Anderson," Connor reminded him as Markus pulled Connor's lip with his teeth.

They leave the coatroom wearing each others ties and tucking their shirts back in. Their first argument as a married couple is spent giggling as Connor demands Markus fix his sex mussed hair, as he is too wasted to do so properly. Markus refuses, says he looks cute and that he wants people to see. Connor says that's a terrible idea, but flushes proudly regardless.

"Connor!" Hank says when they come back to the party, throwing arms around both grooms. "Markus! I'm so fucking happy for you two."

"I'm pretty happy myself, sir," Markus laughs, before North drags Hank off again. Connor and Markus take their seats and watch as Nathan is mobbed by children who all want a turn riding on his shoulders.

"You think he's next?" Connor asked, gesturing to Nathan.

"He's good with kids, not long before someone snatches him up," Markus said with a chuckle. "I know a dozen or so androids begging for the chance."

"Well they'll have to get my approval first," Connor huffed. Markus kisses him, and Connor kisses him back and it's been minutes before they stop kissing and laughing so caught up in the moment.

"Eat your cake, you were so excited about it," Markus teased.

"No," Connor growled, nipping at Markus's ear.

"Eat your damn cake!" Markus laughed again, dabbing his finger in some icing and smearing it on Connor's lips. Connor licked it off, and pretended to scowl at Markus, all the while just taking him in. He was so beautiful, Connor just wanted to stare at him forever.

Connor’s not entirely sure how they got home when he wakes up the next morning. He’s dimly aware of him and Markus arguing over who got to carry who over the threshold, and the ensuing wrestling turned affection that came from it. Other than that the night has blurred into North’s loyal drink refilling and Markus’s beautiful eyes.

Connor turned in bed to look at the android in question, finding him slumbering peacefully in rest mode. He took note of the ring on the hand splayed across the pillow, pride and joy both rising in his chest as he eyed it over.

“You’re staring pretty hard,” Markus mumbled, not so asleep after all. Connor laughed sheepishly, snuggling closer to press a kiss to Markus’s nose.

“How do you know what I’m doing with your eyes closed like that?” he said.

“I’m your husband, I know everything,” Markus said back, yawning to cool biocomponents warmed from inaction under a warm blanket.

“That so, Mr. Anderson?”

“It is, Mr. Manfred.”

[ryouverua]

Trial 6 -  Oh, I am one yet many (5)

The above inspirational picture was taken seconds before disaster.

Trial: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Tsumugi is not the one-trick pony we thought she was ABORT MISSION, ABORT MISSION!!!!

NO YOU AIN’T! NO YOU AIN’T I DID NOT SIGN UP TO BE HAJIMEMED, NO SIR I DID NOT!

i mentioned it during the text hellstorm I unleashed when I was mid-playthrough but the way Shuichi says ‘cosplaying’ here is ADORABLE. I love his VA she is so good -

also

oh no

oh no

o h      n o

I can’t just... express how deeply that feeling of ‘oh no’ pervaded my being. My soul.

“THIS IS JUST COSPLAY“ SHE SAYS - AND GOD, THE MUSIC, THE MUSIC IS SO WACKY LIKE THESE ARE JUST SOME NORMAL FTE ANTICS -

wait no this is the ‘let’s start the killing game music’ -

ah that’s why I’m lowkey terrified right now

W-What in the world are those white smears across Hagakure’s eyes??? And oh god the first game too???

WHAT THE HELL TSUMUGI YOU’VE REALLY BEEN HOLDING OUT ON US TELL ME HOW YOU’RE DOING THIS I-I mean oh no, how dare you, this is so awful...

SHE’S TAKEN FULL OWNERSHIP OF JUNKO!PERSONA

AJSLKDF

TSUMUGI

HOLY SHIT

TSUMUGI

IS THIS YOUR FINAL FORM

ironically this got me thinking ‘this would be a really cool cosplay + prop’ once I got over the sheer terror of the situation and I starting thinking, oh, wouldn’t it be cool if you even had a sort of pinwheel mechanism (with the main body of it being hidden by her long hair) that rotated all of these pieces, and have you ever realized that there is a small piece of you that is the monster

also I just realized... she kept putting her glasses on as Junko. But I’m assuming she won’t ever wear them as Hajime. So it’s true - the moment she actually took off her glasses, we really did get to see her final form..

IS THAT KOMAEDA’S HAIR

ALL OF THESE THINGS, I RECOGNIZE ALL OF THEM OMG

This............ this is terrible, terrifying, and also really, really good

don’t say you’re jealous don’t say you’re jealous don’t say you’re jealous okay I’m a bit jealous FFU --

SHUICHI I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE TIMES WHERE YOU DON’T WANT TO PURSUE THE TRUTH I HAVE A TERRIBLE, AWFUL FEELING -

oh no oh no

here I was doing mental gymnastics to justify why she’d be able to cosplay as Junko, a real person

but I was over-complicating things as usual

even the egg has been compromised for her nefarious scheme this truly is the worst timeline

What is with me and stumbling into series that just bloody smash their fourth wall until there’s nothing but broken pieces left

thank you for having twogami right after togami it’s not something I realized I needed and among all this heartbreak is a blessing

THIS IS NOT YOUR CUE TO START PLAYING THE CREDITS MONOKUMA

I am only making it through this trial by sheer force of will and the power of Sweetcheeks’ adorable voice.

Dangan.... ronpa....?

oh god she said ‘we’ she said ‘WE’ THIS IS REALLY NOT GOOD

‘Don’t get too whacky with your theories,’ I said. ‘You don’t want to sound like a total crackpot,’ I said. DAMN YOU SELF I SHOULD HAVE LET MYSELF GO ABSOLUTELY WILD AFTER ALL

So this was invented completely from nothing??? My initial theory had them seeing themselves in someone else’s actual memories as themselves, and having their own brains play tricks on them that way - but all those scenes with them being interviewed by Makoto, of applying to Hope’s Peak, and possibly everything else about them - oh god - how powerful are these lights? How much detail was crammed into them? Can this all be done with a mere flash of a light???

‘We.’ Her use of ‘we’ is interesting, here. It really does feel like Tsumugi sees all of her cosplay personas as actual people that she can channel to ‘help her’ as opposed to just mere characters. Like entities fighting along side of her, not just through her...

also hello ibuki I forgot how much I enjoyed your VA they make me hear seagulls in the distance

aaaaaaw look at how much the art style has improved from the first game!!!

Y.......... YES.......?????? wait actually as someone who is lowkey interested in props and set design - BUT NO WAIT STILL THIS IS WAY BEYOND THAT -

How... the hell... do you cosplay the world?! The entire world?!?!

Is that possible?? If the entire world isn’t real - if it’s all being propped up by you - then -

Who - who are we playing this game for then??? Why make us play it??? Who is watching the game???

I KNEW IT

I AND PROBABLY HALF OF THE PEOPLE PLAYING WERE JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO SHOW UP

......

Did. Did you just say it takes place in the real world.

Oh no -

It... It’s real fiction... because they’ve kidnapped actual people... and brainwashed them... and then trapped them in a situation where they were forced to kill each other to get out?? For things that didn’t exist??? For reasons that weren’t ever real???

Wait - so that means they can get out and it’ll be fine?! That’s..... t-that’s not as bad as I thought, but...

‘STAFF’ OH THAT WORD IS SO OUT OF PLACE -

...............................

There are. There are people backstage. It’s not just Tsumugi. This. This is super not good.

insert inappropriately-timed comment about how I love this VA

Okay. This actually took me by surprise. And I’m kinda terrified to ask.

W.... Why not? Is - Is this actually a space separated from reality? Can they physically.... not go back....???

no wait -

what are you doing

PUT THAT KEY BACK RIGHT NOW

oH

OH UNCANNY VALLEY-LEVELS OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

NO DON’T THROW REAL FACES UP THERE -

IS THIS A BLOODY COMMENT BOARD

I mean I know in my head that this is a niconico parody but the fact is they have to translate the comments to suit an english audience so -

omfg no I cannot believe what is coming out of the screen right now

wait wait

Kyoko is my waifu

My husbando Shuichi

first

Sakura is my muscle waifu good taste anon

Bring on the spoilers

LOL are you watching?

I feel like I’m participating too!

she’s shaking

Aaaw, Himiko is still alive.

Wow it’s on? LOL!

this is what the creepy kid at the beginning of the chapter was about

this was who that Makoto kid was

WHERE IS HIS CREEPY-ASS FACE I KNOW YOU’RE THERE MAKOTO

Is this the everyone... the real everyone Tsumugi says she represents, then??? That she’s fighting for? Omg was Kirumi’s motive/trial foreshadowing all along -

Anyway, damn Tsumugi is proud of her viewership.

#humblebrag #musclewaifu

EVERYONE???? LITERALLY EVERYONE?!?!?!

SURELY... SURELY THAT IS THE CONCEITED TALK  OF A MANAGER TRYING TO TALK UP THEIR ‘BABY’.... SURELY...

I appreciate the use of Celes here. This is.... damn dark. They’ve achieved such a peaceful world that the have to manufacture darkness and blood-sport for people to get their kicks???

STIMULATION?!

first of all where’s miu when you need her

SECOND OF ALL ARE YOU SURE HUMANITY WAS BEAUTIFUL, KOREKIYO??? ARE YOU SURE?

“It’s simple economics.”

THERE YOU ARE MAKOTO YOU CREEP

oh no he was... literally... using this game to cope with his problems.... and he said that one day he wanted to be a part of it... oh no.....

..... D... Did one of the comments say that it had been years? That they had been waiting for a few years for the sequel?

Does - does that mean something, or is it just a throwaway audience comment? Why years? If Rantaro was in the last one, why would it have been years for this one to happen??? How old is Rantaro? How old is Tsumugi?!?!

FML I had been wondering how ‘Monokuma’ could exist without Junko existing since they’re inextricably linked. FML.

MONOKUMA CAN YOU STOP ROLLING THE CREDITS, THE MUSIC AND THE TITLE CARDS FOR A MINUTE PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU

Because I don’t enjoy having Saioinji’s terrifying eyes trained on me while she questions my intelligence, so I’ll sum up the next question - what season of this gameshow from hell are we apparently on?

I mean, considering Junko’s title... well...

..... yeah it looks better with a V.

the real answer to why they used V3 even though it’s technically not the correct way to say ‘53′ - it’s the aesthetic.

FFFF

I actually screenshot all the parody!title cards and they’re amazing. I’ll post them just once a bit later when it shows up again because this post is entirely too long, but needless to say, whoever designed them had fun. And the titles of the games, too - Birth of Despair? Dream Danganronpa? Sign me tf up! oh no does this make me part of the problem I’M SORRY SWEETCHEEKS

I can’t believe I was bitching about Junko being the mastermind for the third game when apparently audience members have had to sit through 53 Junkos

You couldn’t have changed it up??? Not even once??? Like, one led by Mukuro as a prologue idea or??? quietly denies the existence of the anime

Oh, speaking of which, I do like the excuse they came up with as to why the drv3 creators didn’t create new characters from the supposed other games why Tsumugi didn’t cosplay anyone outside the first two games - it’s for the class’s benefit, since they only knew those two casts, and y’know. She cares. about shock value

DON’T YOU PASS THE BUCK, GIRL

Ah, so that ‘staff’ you mentioned earlier...

why is this so funny to me

T-Tsumugi, do you have a tumultuous relationship with your managers or something

why are you airing out your dirty laundry on live television

is it all the incest plotlines

I feel like at this point it’s less ‘Tsumugi is trying to rub into the students how completely and absolutely they are boned’ and more ‘okay, it’s time to give a shout-out to everyone who put this production together! Perfect time to slap on that logo, guys!‘

oh my god that was supposed to be a trailer in-meta too alsd;kfj i’m losing it

AND AGAIN, THOSE TITLE CARDS - THEY ARE AMAZING.

SHE IS SHE’S TOTALLY ADVERTISING MID-SHOW

TSUMUGI STOP BEING A CORPORATE SELL-OUT

"NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR YOUR CRAPPY SHOEHORNED ADVERTISING!!!”

oh god oh no

who’s going to tell him -

MONOKUMA DON’T YOU DARE

i’m having an existential crisis alongside sweetcheeks ngl

there are so many layers

....

we need to go deeper

So, just to clarify, there are three layers right now:

There’s us, the players. In a sense, we could be considered ‘equal but different than the tier’, but we do still operate on a plane separate from the metafiction of Tsumugi’s ‘everyone in the world’.

There’s the ‘audience’, the outside world. This is the space that’s been breached at this point. And this... this is the level where the students are from, too - aka the reason I think we and the audience should exist as separate entities.

And there’s the domain of the Killing Game, a space created to play out this story, using real people - a place separated from reality... how? If Tsumugi is talking about a set, it could easily be the real world, which means they’ve been isolated somewhere. At the same time though, when they managed to reach the end of the escape tunnel and saw the outside world, they all started to choke and suffocate. So... could this be VR still? Or no? Can these existences known as Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective, Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin, Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Robot, K1-b0, the Ultimate Robot, and even Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, leave this space in any way, shape or form... or not at all? Is them suffocating ^ like that a sign that they literally cannot exist outside of this space?

She is literally throwing the same question back in Shuichi’s face ghdfkgh

NO I’M ON SHUICHI’S SIDE I COULDN’T HELP IT I HAD TO CHOOSE REAL PEOPLE

no!!! no!!!! NO!!!!

no seriously I still chose real people because I am stubborn

sweetcheeks et al. do not deserve any of this

Of course they brought out despair!Mikan for this. Of course.

I have to say, I do like these little character touches - the decisions that have been made as to which ‘cosplay’ says what. I mean, it’s supposed to also act as a way to throw our known and loved favourites in our face too, but having Celes comment on how boring ‘peace’ is? Having Ibuki smashing through the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience, Gundham remarking on their abnormal existence and Leon commenting on how cool the ‘aesthetic’ of the title card is? It’s such a nice touch. also horrifying. butalsonice

Oh we really are addressing the prologue now??? And - I’m assuming Tsumugi is referring to Hajime when she says ‘me’, but is there a chance she isn’t?

Just as I initially suspected, though - they really were normal when they got in. So how did they decide who got what personality/talent, or was that random? I mean, that might be the case - it was potentially hinted by the motive video switch of Chapter 2..

............. Huh.

But..... in what sense? Like the 16 talents were stored in those lights and they were ‘picked up’ by the most suited participant? How could you make sure there were no doubles? Or - and this is possible because of the vague language - did the talents build on what the student knew already? In which case, how would they know what the talents would end up being and plan the labs around them?

No, it would... have to be... the first one. Talents had its own selection in the flashback creating machine, though without verifying what the subcategories are it’s hard to confirm or deny anything... but I also can’t shake what Maki said at the beginning of the game? How it felt like their talents were given at random?

So... so they’re not only back where they started - completely isolated with everyone they’ve ever known and the world they knew completely out of reach (in this sense, dead/not actually existing are functionally the same), but they get a helping of a totally warranted existential crisis on top of that.

And... their bodies are real, so everyone else really is dead. No happy sdr2 ending. Well, unless I mental-gymnastics that to read ‘they have physical bodies to return to, but as manufactured personas it’s pointless.’

Me too, Sweetcheeks.

We can’t go 5 minutes without a WHAM line.

B-But they were kidnapped weren’t they -?!

fujisaki does not deserve this slander

Return of the hat!!!

..... is it bad that I miss his hat. I. I really liked his hat. I know that it was representative of the way he held back and used it to hide himself, but - but I liked his original portrait. And I liked the way it was incorporated into his sprites and all the movements he makes with it and without it, like it‘s a phantom limb. okayI’llstop

Why... are we not getting a name here? Was Shuichi Saihara a made-up name too?

oh -

oh no

D: A... Anything...

H-He’s.... a complete fanboy too.................... holy shit. cute but terrifying he looks like much more of a schoolboy super!fan than real Shuichi

S-So wait, it’s not even autosuggestion then - he asked for it? How - how does this work with the flashback lights? It can be targeted like that??? god I’m going to have so many questions after this is all over

I think this may be the death knell for his psyche oTL I certainly wouldn’t be able to take this if I was in his position.

LOOK I KNOW I GET EXCITED ABOUT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TOO

but this is a bit much c-can you please keep that drool in -

asdfkjlsdf w h a t

was

was this omitted or something

I - I swear they were kidnapped they seemed a lot more freaked out?!

Even Rantaro, who seemed to know more than he let on at the time - ?!

I... I think I really need to go back and replay the prologue.

ME NEITHER K1-B0 I FEEL LIKE I’M BEING GASLIT

d-did

did you use it on me too

That... that I can believe. No matter who they were before - if they were consenting or not - it might not even matter, if they can’t return to how they were. In a sense, the Gopher Project story was practically preparing them for it - the idea that everything they knew and loved were gone, and would never come back. Oh... oh that’s bad....

TSUMUGI IS ACTUALLY TERRIFYING

SHUT UP NAEGI

wait why is seeing him say that worse than seeing Junko say her normal despair stuff

it’s the insincerity, probably...

YOU NERFED KAITO?!?!?!

YOU NERFED KAITO!!!!!!!

okay I take back what I said Maki you have my enthusiastic blessing to recklessly murder as necessary

RIP Tsumugi and all of her new depth

“I’m also the one that kept sneaking all of the death flags into his room while you were out training every night!”

Y O O O

YOU NERFED HER CHARACTER TOO?!?!?! YOU GOTTA LET THAT HAPPEN ORGANICALLY!!!

LMAO

Souda will never show this much awareness in his actual every day fictional life and that makes this 100% funnier

Everything has a writing credit.... every single thing? Every bit of development?

Even Kokichi’s coup and Kaito’s cooperation? And Kokichi manipulating Gonta? You just seemed so - so angry about that after the trial. Surely those, if nothing else...

At this point they’re just kicking a sad, beaten-down puppy. What more could you possibly do at this point - ?!

oH GOD I DON’T WANT TO SEE THIS

WHAT THE HELL WHO EVEN SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT

nNOOO

NO LET ME REMEMBER HIM THE WAY HE WAS

DON’T YOU CROSS THIS BRIGHT RED LINE SHIROGANE

NO

NO THIS IS ILLEGAL I’M CALLING THE POLICE HE LOOKS ABSOLUTELY MAD -

GHGHGGHGHGHGH

GHGHghghghghhh

ghghgh

sdkflj

n o  o o o oooo o o o o o o o

gggkghk

I-It’s not a lie! Even if it was manufactured, even if it was coded into them - their feelings were real to them! It might be by design, but - oh this sounds so hollow. It’s one thing to talk about ‘fate’ and ‘this was the work of a higher power’, but having it brought down on you in such a trivial way must be absolutely soul-crushing.

this is the saddest iteration of hangover!Shuichi that I have laid my eyes on in the entire game

nihilism.

tbh I never found Izuru that intimidating as a final villain in the last game - but here? Terrifying. Maybe it’s in contrast to Junko here, who has the overbearing destructive personality of a tornado, but the quiet emptiness and lack of a higher purpose, of absolute futility that he stands for here - that scares me a lot.   Maybe it’s just because it seems to bring the concept of DR’s despair to a place that I can personally understand?

I keep saying ‘this is terrifying!’ but I mean, to be fair... it... kind of is. as always, fantastic use of text DRV3!

also can someone please shut up the peanut gallery for five minutes

well damn Monokuma that one felt aimed right at me

It reminds me of what Komaeda would say about his own motivation: it was watching everyone struggle with adversity, or the ‘despair of the killing game’, with the end goal of them ‘reaching hope’ - of seeing them overcome and grow stronger for it, that drove him forward. From the outside that makes sense; seeing other people overcome struggles, even ones so terrible, give us the mental strength to overcome our own problems. But for someone on the inside looking out... how perverse would that feel, to think that your suffering is basically being used as inspiration!p0rn? Knowing that there were voyeurs getting a kick out of your struggle?

What happens to game pieces after the game board is closed and put away?

Do they go into stasis? Do they just... exist, outside of time? Frozen forever, until they’re taken out to be ‘played with’ again; left to rot?

If they ‘win’.... they have no future. There’s nothing for them to move forward to reach. A piece learning that they’re a piece, and knowing their dreams after their trials will always stay just out of reach... how can anyone move foward like that?

“love that reaction” OH SHUT UP LUDENBERGxLUVER37

Fight for yourself! They fought to get you this far - Kaito and Kokichi died to give you this chance, even if they are a ‘lie”!

But Shuichi has never been able to fight for himself, only for the others...

Tsumugi, after spending the last hour verbally beating them down and shredding his and everyone’s sense of self to shreds: wow lol what a weakling

Everything is terrible and yet her saying this still got a laugh out of me, damn it.

S-SHUICHI? SHUICHI?

I-IS HE EMOTIONALLY SHUTTING DOWN -

OH GOD

HIS

H-HIS POV - IS GONE -

And nothing but despair left...

Did - did we just lose Shuichi...?

SWEETCHEEKS!!! SWEETCHEEKS, NO!!!

SWEETCHEEKS I’M SO SORRY!!!!

[harrypotterandthefandomaccount]

Patience of the Prince[1]

request: Hiya! I just stumbled upon your account and saw that your requests were open. I was wondering if you could do a Snape x Reader, Beauty and the Beast AU. Maybe some angst/arguing at the beginning- but soon transitions into fluff near the end or middle.

summary: beauty and the beast but with a twist

warnings: literally everything that happens in beauty and the beast 2017

note: yes, you read that right!! this is part 1 of many! I love beauty and the beast so much, and i thought emma watson did a fantastic job of playing belle. the whole movie is just intoxicating and when this request came in, i couldn’t resist. so anyways, here is part 1 of whoever knows:)

8-23-18

Prince Severus Snape’s nastiness could be sensed from every part of Conques and even beyond it. The town knew how selfish the man was, taking after his father and treating others below him like pieces of dirt. Not a single cell in his body could bring himself to give to the needy or those who were in trouble.

It seemed like any other night with his face as pale as snow and his shoulder-length black hair gelled back. Blue and white makeup covered his face as he dressed in the fanciest clothes only the most wealthy could buy. Monsieur Cadenza played a beautiful tune while his wife, Madame Garderobe, sang the highest notes that nobody else could hit.

Everyone was in sync, ladies being lifted into the air by their male partners while their dresses ruffled against the skin of others. Not a single disturbance lurked in the halls of the castle until the glass doors from behind the throne busted open. An old woman named Agathe was covered in a black and worn cloth, her body shivering from the cold.

For a gift, the old woman gave the prince a rose, the only thing she could find. Instead of enjoying such a small yet beautiful gift, the prince laughed in her face, along with everyone else in the room. Repulsed by not only her appearance but also her “gift,” the prince casted the woman away.

However, instead of being discouraged, the old woman told Prince Snape that he shouldn’t be so displeased by looks of others. She had told him that beauty was found within, yet when he dismissed her again, her appearance had formed into a beautiful enchantress. The prince was shocked, stepping away and begging for forgiveness. No love was left in his heart and because of such hatred, she transformed the prince into a hideous beast and everyone left in the castle.

For years, the prince and his servants had been memories long forgotten by the townspeople, leaving the castle to rot. However, the rose the enchantress gave to the prince was enchanted, and if he found love, the spell would be broken. Who could ever learn to love a beast?

Any typical day in Coques for Y/N L/N consisted of her strolling through her poor provincial town. Each day, she goes through the town and greets her neighbors as though she doesn’t hear them talking about her, how “peculiar” or “strange” she is for enjoying books. The library would be completely empty except for Pere Robert who always dusts the windows, asking how his favorite, and only, bookworm was doing.

A new or old book would make its way into Y/N’s hands, knowing they’d be read in about a day or two(2). The town would be buzzing with sales from all the shops they had within the community and each person stopped to see what the young woman was doing today. More criticism reached her way while she had her nose in a book, expressing what she knew already from a chapter in.

However, it seemed as if the most popular man around town, Draco Malfoy, couldn’t stop staring all the time. The townspeople knew and respected their limits but Draco? Not a chance. He was so dull and would never take no for an answer. The man always strutted around like he owned Coques, making every girl(and sometimes men) fall to their knees in praise or adoration.

If only Draco could get it through his thick skull that Y/N didn’t like him. It just wasn’t meant to be, as he always said. He never read a book in his life and is all about himself, never other people. He was handsome, Y/N wouldn’t deny that, but his snobbish attitude was enough for her to turn the other cheek. That, and the only reason he wanted her was because he thought she was the best since she was deemed “the most beautiful girl in the village.”

His friend, Gregory Goyle, tried some of his French persuading to steer him away but for some reason, that gave Malfoy even a better drive to strive. Y/N is so well read, and while Draco is athletically inclinded, he wanted to find a balance. They both were equally good-looking yet all Draco wanted was to marry Y/N.

Three girls, however, always had their eyes for the Malfoy man; Pansy, Cho, and Myrtle. Monsieur Draco always seemed to have those three(3) bugs attached to his shoe, their attention span not going over him. Although, they never really caught on that he wasn’t interested and probably will never be.

Even with so much craziness happening within her life and the small town, Y/N wanted something more; something with a purpose. She wanted adventure and new experiences that she could share with others while having a smile on her face. Y/N knew that there was more to her provincial life while all Draco wanted to do was make Y/N his wife.

All the townspeople focused on Draco’s new, and probably another failed attempt, at wooing Y/N. He carried a bouquet of flowers and strolled up to the young woman, “good morning, Y/N! Ah, wonderful book you have there.”

Y/N glanced down at the book she was holding, “have you read it?” Her eyes seemed to look at him with surprise, ready to faint if needed.

Draco chuckled, “well, not that one but you know. . .books.” Silence between the two(2) grew while people around them talked. He then gave Y/N the flowers he had been holding, “for your dinner table. Shall I join you this evening?”

The answer to her question wasn’t entirely a surprise, along with the flowers. She gave him a tight smile, “sorry, not this evening.”

Draco gave her a smile that almost every girl could faint from if they witnessed it up close, “busy?”

Taking the flowers, Y/N got ready to head home, “no. . .” Walking away, she failed to hear the conversation between Goyle and Malfoy, admiring how attractive her “dignity” was. A part of her was glad she missed that conversation between them.

Carefully watching the stones and pavement, Y/N made sure she listened closely to hear a calming tune of a music box. With a soft smile on her face, she headed inside her small house, seeing her father, Alastor, working on another one of his inventions. He sang quietly along to the tune, making sure his trinket was stable and each detail was noticable.

When her father finished, Y/N walked along beside him with a loaf of bread. He looked up at his daughter, startled for a moment, “oh, Y/N. . .would you mind handing me a-”His daughter was already a step ahead of him, handing her dad a tool for his music box, “hmm. . .thank you.” 

A slight pause took over them as Y/N grabbed something else. Her dad started again, “oh, and I also need-” She held another part of the music box in her hand, “hah, uh, no. No. . .actually, yes, that’s exactly what I need. Thank you.”

Y/N smiled at him as he continued to tinker around with his invention, “papa, do you think I’m odd?”Alastor’s tinkering stopped as he looked up at Y/N, “odd? My daughter, odd? W-where did you get an idea like that?”Moving some items around, she made herself busy, “oh, you know. People talk.”

Her father chuckled, “well, this is a small village. Small-minded, as well. . .but small. I knew a girl like you back in Paris who was so ahead of her time. People mocked her until they found themselves imitating her.”

A smile made its way onto Y/N’s face as her father went back to his small invention, “please, just tell me one more thing about her.”Alastor’s face softened while looking at his makeshift painting of his deceased wife, glancing back at his daughter, “your mother was fearless. . .fearless.” Closing up his newest gadget, Alastor and his daughter began to put some things in boxes, preparing for a drop off of some items.

Carrying a package, Y/N put a box in a wagon that was carried by a horse. Her father saddled up and looked down at his daughter, “so, what can I bring you from the market?”

Y/N rested her hands on her father’s knee, “a rose, like the one in the painting.” Her E/C eyes glanced up at her father, noticing a sad smile forming on his lips. He tilted his head, “you ask for that every year.”Y/N smiled, “and every year you bring it.”

Alastor laid a hand on his daughter’s cheek as he smiled, “then I shall bring you another. . .you have my word.”Backing away from the horse, she gave him a grin, “bye papa.” Alastor began to ride off, “bye Y/N. . .I’ll see you tomorrow, with the rose!”

Deciding to make the most of her time, Y/N got to work on an invention that her father would’ve thought of in seconds had he seen the gears turning. All she needed was a barrel, a donkey, and laundry. Bringing it to the well, she threw in some soap and the clothes as the donkey walked around the well.With a book in her hand, Y/N relaxed on an edge and read while a little girl looked befuddled, “what’s he doing?”

Y/N smiled, “laundry. . .come, come!” The little girl made her way over to the “odd woman.” While the donkey continued doing laundry, Y/N decided on teaching the little one how to read. She smiled, “the blue bird. . .that flies over the dark wood.”Y/N gasped, “that was amazing!” Just then, one of the grumpy old men of the village turned to Y/N and the little girl, “what on earth are you doing? Teaching another girl to read. . .isn’t one enough?”

The little girl furrowed her brows as Y/N looked down, disappointed. A woman who was nearby heard what the man said, “we outta do somethin’.” Not a moment later, three(3) men made their way over to Y/N’s “laundry machine” and dumped everything onto the ground.

She made work by putting everything back in a basket, giving Pere Robert a tight smile. He himself was shocked, and discouraged, that the townspeople would go as far as ruining someone’s work just because of reading. .

[strawberryjmilk]

baemax | lee felix

anon requested:  Hi! Can I pls request a fluff w Felix? Reader is getting stressed and tired from work/school and their health is starting to fail. So Felix steps in and tries to help with whatever they’re doing? Thank you so much! You’re the best <3

word count: 2039

collge!au, non idol!au robotics engineer!reader

"Please," a groan was heard. Felix sighed, rolling his eyes as he listened to Minho sniffle and cough. The boy had gotten himself sick, and started missing his classes because of it. Currently, he was begging Felix to get his notes from his math partner. The only problem - Y/N was currently in the engineer department and Felix was terrified to go there. "Felix, I really can't afford to get behind."

"But, I'm very warm and comfy in my bed," Felix spoke. He twisted a stray string around his finger, pouting slightly. The thought of the engineering department terrified Felix in general - he didn't know what to expect. What if they took him in to experiment on him? What if he ended up being sliced by the lasers he'd heard rumors about? "It's warm and safe here, away from all of the gadgets they have there."

"It's not scary, Felix," Minho whined. He really didn't want to get behind, and he'd been to your department countless times. "The scariest thing would be the robots, and you love those!"

"If I die, tell Jeongin he was always my favorite," Felix sighed. He hung up after saying his goodbyes, convincing himself he needed to wear actual clothes. Sighing again, Felix ruffled a hand through his hair, dreading the small walk he'd have to take.

It was chaos in the engineering department. Loud yells rang and echoed, different sounds of different types of music going with it. In the distance, Felix heard a power drill turn on, and he had to do everything in his power to not run at that very moment. With a gulp, the blond stepped warily into the building, almost shaking with fear.

"Do you need something?" A voice spoke up. Felix yelped, spinning around to see a boy a little older than him, carrying at least three drink trays, all full of coffee. The boy looked frazzled - his hair was everywhere and his eyes were drooping as he struggled to stay awake. "I'm Vernon - it's a little hectic here. But, did you need something?"

"Math notes," Felix spit out. The blond flinched when a loud shout was heard - a victory shout, he hoped. Stumbling over his words, Felix managed to say one eligible thing. "Y/N."

"Ah, Y/N!" Vernon cheered. He nodded to the right, insisting Felix follow him. Felix looked back to all the coffees the boy was carrying, wondering if he should offer to help. He didn't, though, being too uncomfortable in an odd place and situation. "Y/N needed a coffee break, anyways. I'm sure the visit would be appreciated. You guys friends?"

"Not exactly," Felix choked as they walked though a smoke cloud. He looked to the left to see a dejected girl bang her head against her workstation, groaning as her invention didn't work - again. How could Felix say he didn't even know what you looked like, much less how you weren't nearly close enough to be friends.

"Y/N!" Vernon cheered. He came to an abrupt halt, looking around quickly, trying to catch sight of you. Saying a loud 'ah', Vernon led Felix to the back of the building where he could see a figure going frantic. "Y/N, your coffee's here! And something about math notes. See you later!"

"Thanks, Vern!" You called out. You hummed in content as you all but chugged the coffee you'd been brought. Finally taking notice of the awkward blond who was looking around warily, you blinked. "Math notes? Oh, are you Minho's friend?"

"Felix," he almost whimpered. Felix cringed before clearing his throat - he sounded oddly cowardly, and his first thought was that he wanted to make a good first impression. Shuffling slightly, Felix bit his lip before raising a hand to slightly wave. "Lee Felix - and, yeah, I'm friends with Minho."

"Just let me grab the notes!" You grinned. Felix nodded as his eyes glued themselves to the ground - he was imagining it when he saw stars sparkling around your figure, right? A loud beep rang out through the department, almost like a bell. Felix was startled again, wide eyes almost tearing up. "That's just the bell that tells us to get our stuff together and leave because it's late - it goes off every hour we ignore it."

"How many times has it gone off?" Felix found himself asking. Remembering how many coffees Vernon was carrying - and how unkept and tired everyone seemed - Felix could only guess a few times. You paused your searching, turning to look at Felix while tilting your head. He was seeing the stars turn to hearts, oh boy.

"Twelve times, maybe?" You shrugged, going back to your bag. With a groan, your entire figure slumped as you began to pout. Where did you put those math notes again? You'd made a little packet specifically for Minho because you knew he'd be out sick for a while. Sighing, you turned to the mess that was your workstation. "Bubby, help me find my math notes, please."

A small whirring was heard and a flash of silver caught Felix's eye. At knee height, a small robot rolled forward to where you stood with your bag. It blinked - almost cutely, Felix had to admit - before a whir was heard again. A crackle, then a soothing voice, "the ones for Minho?"

Felix's eyes grew again. Not only did the robot have the least robotic voice - when it said Minho's name, it was Minho's voice. The thought of Minho spending his free time here to see your little robot was amusing. You nodded, a hand under your chin in thought.

"Mhm," you hummed. Sighing again, you crouched down so you were face-to-face with the robot. Arms wrapping around your knees, you tilted your head again. "I did do them, right? I can't remember much - I was working on the animatronic all day."

"You did," the robot replied. Felix froze as you spoke to the chunk of metal so calmly, as if you were friends. Maybe it isn't that scary here, he thought. The robot blinked again before turning to Felix. I take it back, I'm still scared! "New friend?"

"Oh, this is Felix," you introduced. When you looked back up at the blond, you grinned until your eyes crinkled. A small laugh escaped your mouth as you took in Felix's startled expression and stiff posture. "He's Minho's friend and he seems a bit nervous. Let's get him out of here quickly, okay?"

"Yes, Y/N," Bubby replied. Your voice covered your name, a happy cheer of a word. Felix's eyes wandered around again before he found them almost glued to you. A small whir was heard as Bubby tipped your bag over, watching the contents spill thoughtfully. A shuffle or two before a small packet was there. "Found it!"

"Thank you, Bubby!" You grinned again. Those damn sparkles are showing up again, Felix glared. You faced the boy after patting your robot with a small, "you can rest now."

Before the little robot rested, it whirred up to Felix. The blond stiffened once more. He looked to you - you stood, motioning him to crouch down like you were beforehand. Gulping, Felix slowly lowered himself to the ground, a frown planted on his face. Bubby reached out and patted his head lightly, "there, there. Don't be afraid."

With that, your tiny robot whirled away to a small corner to presumably take a nap. Felix was handed a small stack of notes - looking closer, he realized that they were all color coded. Giving you a small nod, Felix shuffled his way out of the department, only looking back at you once.

"Thinking of Y/N?" Minho teased. The boy recovered quickly, and started to regularly tease Felix about you. At first, the blond's cheeks would light up pink when Minho mentioned you. Now, though, he was so used to it that he merely rolled his eyes. "I know I am. The entire engineering department is busy with huge projects. I kind of miss Bubby, too."

"They're all busy?" Felix asked. He looked up from the book he was reading to watch as Minho pouted. Leaning his chin on his hand, Felix felt his eyebrows furrow as he wondered if you'd been sleeping properly. Then again, he thought, why do I care?

"Mhm," Minho hummed. He ate the cupcake he was holding, nodding in satisfaction. Felix was sitting at a table while Minho was trying different and new recipes. The peppermint cookies he'd made were pretty good, but Felix didn't trust the honey and marshmallow cupcake he held. "The projects count towards their ending grade. If they fail, they don't pass."

It was almost dark, but you were still on Felix's mind. He'd left Minho in the kitchen, not listening as the brunette muttered about flour and sugar. Shuffling in his bed, Felix sat up with an almost pout on his lips.

No matter what Felix tried to convince himself of, he always found himself wondering how you were. If you were eating, how many coffees you'd been drinking - it all floated through his mind. So, against his better judgement, Felix trudged his way to the kitchen he was at earlier. Grabbing a spare apron, Felix hoped all of Minho's ramblings would come to mind before he grabbed a bowl and began to make a small batch of cupcakes.

You were half-asleep at your working desk when you heard someone clear their throat. Looking up, you could see a shy Felix, a small smudge of pink frosting on his cheek. Trailing down, your eyes caught sight of the cupcake he held delicately.

"Felix?" You asked, slowly sitting up straight. Felix nodded, holding the cupcake further from himself and closer to you. You grabbed it, ignoring how it was a little cold and how lopsided the frosting was. "This is for me?"

"Minho said you were working really hard," Felix spoke. He rubbed his neck nervously, not meeting your gaze once. Puffing his cheeks, Felix pointed to the - admittedly ugly - cupcake. "That was the prettiest one, and it reminded me of how you're the prettiest one in the engineering department."

Everything froze after he spoke. Felix's eyes widened - he didn't mean to say that. A grin settled on your face before you looked up at him, his eyes finally meeting yours. Taking a bite, you hummed in satisfaction.

"It's a little burnt," you admitted. Swallowing the bite with the last of your coffee - you needed at least two more - you smiled again. "But, it's really good. Thank you, Felix."

You got out of your seat, your close proximity bringing a fresh blush to Felix's cheeks. Your lips brushed against his right cheek - the one absent of frosting. After kissing his cheek gently, you sat back down and proceeded to work.

Felix didn't say anything, but his heart was racing and he didn't want to leave you just yet. Grabbing a spare chair, Felix sat beside you cautiously. Seeing your welcoming gaze and warm smile, Felix relaxed. He sat with you the entire night, listening as you muttered to yourself and asking questions when he grew curious.

You woke up to Felix's nose touching yours, both of you laying your heads on your work desk. You smiled, tracing the small freckles that were spread across his nose softly. He scrunched his nose, eyelids fluttering open slowly.

"Let's go get breakfast," you whispered. The atmosphere was too calm and warm for you to disturb it. Felix's eyes widened briefly before he smiled, nodding and ruffling his hair up. You both sat up with a yawn, looking at all of your still-asleep or just-woken-up classmates that were around you. "My treat - as a thank you for staying with me and for the cupcake."

"Next time, it's my treat, then," Felix agreed. You beamed at the sound of next time, and Felix swore he could see the sparkles and hearts surrounding you again. He smiled back, shifting a glance to the sleeping Bubby, who was emitting small snores. He wouldn't tell you, but Felix liked the sound of next time, too.

i hope you guys enjoyed that!! theres only a few college!aus left im )))^: i added the request here since it sort of matched - i hope that’s okay! thank you for reading, don’t forget to take care of yourself

more college!aus here! CHAN | WOOJIN | MINHO | CHANGBIN | JISUNG | HYUNJIN | FELIX |  SEUNGMIN | JEONGIN

[xtruss]

Opinion/United Kingdom

The British Invented Racism, The Americans Perfected It

The idea that modern Britain is not as bad as the US when it comes to racial injustice is just a fallacy.

— by Samuel Etienne | Al Jazeera English | June 23, 2020

Members of far-right Football Lads Alliance hold a British flag in front of the covered statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London, June 13, 2020 (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

In the United Kingdom, we tend to look at the United States with smug contempt over the police brutality and overt racial injustice on display there. Yet, Black people account for 3 percent of the population, but 8 percent of deaths in custody in the UK. Moreover, since 1990, just one police officer has been convicted for their role in the death of someone in their care. This, despite almost 2,000 people dying in police custody, or otherwise following contact with the police, in England and Wales during the same period.

For all of the diversity initiatives, government reports with limited actionable outcomes, and box-ticking exercises that have followed them, racial discrimination continues to permeate throughout British society. Research shows ethnic minorities in Britain are facing rising and increasingly overt racism, with levels of discrimination and abuse continuing to grow in the wake of the Brexit referendum.

Racism in the UK is systemic. It is daily. It is tiring. We see it both in the language and methods used for dealing with anybody who is labelled "other". It was evident in the Windrush scandal and the anti-immigrant rhetoric in the Brexit vote. It is evident in the education system, employment market, and the healthcare system. It is evident in England's higher BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) COVID-19 rate.

So the UK is in no position to look at the other side of the Atlantic with contempt. As the saying goes, "The British invented racism, the Americans perfected it."

Leroy!

As a Black man who served in Her Majesty's Armed Forces, where ethnic minorities make up just 2.5 percent of all officers, I experienced British racism first-hand in its many forms.

In its most common form, it was masked by humour.

Ask any British soldier who "Leroy" is and what he does. Their response will be the same. Leroy is a mythical, hulking, Afro-Caribbean bogeyman, equipped with a larger-than-life appendage, who "will sleep with your partner while you're away".

I was "introduced" to Leroy for the first time at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where most of my white colleagues considered jokes about this hypersexual, deviant, Black male figure normal. It was an accepted everyday trope there.

Perhaps the myth of Leroy was born out of the indignation some English men and women felt when the first wave of post-war Afro Caribbean migrants settled in the UK and found English partners. Or maybe it is a representation of the even older white nationalist fears about Black people mixing with a white population and "sullying the blood". The same fears that surfaced when Prince Harry married, and had a child with, Meghan Markle, an African American woman.

On one occasion, I recall hearing of a woman leaving her soldier partner for another man. "Well, at least he's not Black" was the lotion offered by the soldier's white colleagues for the burn of being ditched. In British society in general and the British military in particular, a hidden but commonplace sense of white supremacy places Black and brown people at the bottom of the social pecking order. For many British soldiers, being replaced by a Black man, a "Leroy", is an insult worse than any other.

It Is Just Banter, Get On With It

Much of what the military does is behind closed doors for operational reasons. Beyond the battlefield, this culture of concealment allows behaviour that would be deemed anachronistic by wider society to continue unabated within the military bubble.

British society reached the consensus that blackface is unacceptable some time ago. But the armed forces apparently did not get the memo. Just a few years ago, a colleague attended a costume party supposedly impersonating me, with their skin covered in black shoe polish and red golliwog lipstick. Senior commanders at the event looked on amused, awaiting a fiery response from me. These commanders preached the importance of moral courage, yet were complicit in normalising inappropriate behaviour steeped in racism under the guise of banter.

Later, when photos surfaced online, the blackface aficionado begged to have them instantly removed. They knew what they did was wrong and feared exposure to the judgement of those outside of the military bubble.

In the military context, the onus is often placed on the person who has been aggrieved to make light of the situation and "get on with it" - we see this in recent UK military discrimination cases won in civilian courts, having been originally quashed by internal investigations. Individuals are being forced to go outside of the bubble of their organisations to seek justice.

A recent investigation found that within the last five years, just more than 17 percent of racially aggravated crimes investigated by military police resulted in guilty verdicts at court martial. The Ministry of Defence admitted the number of cases investigated by military police services for the army, navy and air force was already low. Not many people dare to report racially motivated crimes in the military, because personnel who issue a formal complaint mark themselves an outcast from their colleagues.

And things are not getting any better.

Just last year, the service complaints ombudsman for the UK military, Nicola Williams, stated that within the UK military "incidents of racism are occurring with increasing and depressing frequency".

Black Lives Matter, UK

Britons are not in a position today to watch the protest over George Floyd's killing, and the wider Black Lives Matter movement in the US and say "we are beyond all this".

Those who fail to recognise racism, just because they benefit from it and see it as the norm, cannot negate the experiences of the Black and brown citizens and residents of the UK who have to deal with overt and covert racism on a daily basis.

To eliminate racism, the UK first needs to acknowledge that it exists, that it is systemic, and that it is affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of Britons on a daily basis.

The British military prides itself on reflecting the best elements of society, but in reality, it also harbours some of the worst. It cannot continue to preach morality, justice and loyalty while allowing racism to fester within its barracks, academies and offices under the guise of "banter". It cannot continue to allow racially aggravated crimes to go unpunished.

Today, as said many times before, it is not enough to not be racist. One needs to be actively anti-racist to help defeat systemic racism - both in the US and the UK.

— The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.

[bigmommabitch]

 katie-loves-bdsm

Ten Things A Dom Needs

Written by a friend of a friend whom shall remain nameless…

1) Do what you’re told. Not just when you want to, not just when it’s easy, but every single time. If you’ve suddenly decided you’re a free agent that’s a conversation for negotiation in whatever format that takes in your dynamic. Until then, less talking, more obeying.

2) Keep your commitments. If me/you/we have decided on a certain protocol you’re expected to follow through. Nothing sucks the magic out of a D/s interaction faster than when BOTH people let protocols lapse and drift by the wayside. If you act like a part-time sub expect to be treated like one.

3) Try to be just a little less self-centered. The journey of submission is all about YOU, I get it. Truthfully all of us Doms get it, but there is an illusion here that needs to be maintained, and when every check-in boils down to how things are going for you and you don’t bother to ask, “How are you, are you satisfied, are you getting what you need out of me, how can I improve our shared experience?” It makes you look kinda shallow.

4) Don’t compare yourself to other people. Whether you’re poly or monogamous, every time you look at another person and say: “I’ll bet he likes them more than me.” You’re essentially saying “I don’t trust you, I don’t trust us, I don’t really believe that you want me like you say you do.” We are with you for a reason. Not receiving the desire we feel for you is deeply insulting.

5) Sacrifice. This is the deeper side of D/s, it’s where the givers separate themselves from the users. There is nothing that builds a connection faster than doing something unpleasant, when you don’t want to, without being asked, without seeking praise. It’s also very easy to take for granted, which is why you should take your time and don’t give yourself to a Dom who’s a shithead.

6) Own your tantrums. You have feelings, deep intense feelings, if you didn’t you probably wouldn’t be a sub. I encourage you to learn to track when the kettle is about to boil so together we can point the steam in a safe direction. When you fuck up though, and I get a face full of hot water, and you say bad things, you need to accept that in the morning you’ll be held accountable for the things you said even if you didn’t really mean them. This can be a tough pill to swallow, which brings us to our next point:

7) Take it with grace. Ritual and submission are amazing tools to refocus the mind and de-escalate emotions, but the collar is not a magic ring, YOU make the magic. You make it by catching yourself, by breathing into your rituals, by transforming frustration and stress into submission and present moment awareness. Each repetition is a form of emotional alchemy much in the same way that CBT thought-stopping is, (that’s Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, not Cock and Ball Torture, you perverts).

8) Help us to evolve. I’m talking about recognizing that every human being is a little bit lost in their own way, and the difference is that Doms don’t have someone constantly fixating on how to guide us into being better versions of ourselves. Deftly guiding power figures in the directions they need to go is the forte’ of the masterful submissive, and the difference between that and manipulation is that you always have the person’s own interests at heart, even when they conflict with your own. It’s easy to love a Dom as an archetype or a caricature, but to evaluate a whole human being, and desire to kneel for them anyways is the deepest expression of love. You and I may have different toolboxes, but we are building the same house.

9) Stick around. Fact is, most subs vanish as soon as the honeymoon wears off. This phenomenon of women who beg for submission then pull the ripcord at 3-7 months once it’s no longer all about them makes Doms cynical, hard, and reluctant to engage, and further shrinks the pool of the few decent guys who can do this stuff well. I think a lot of this stems from the idea that Dominance is something that’s being done to you, and not with you. If you empower yourself as a co-creator of the dynamic, you’ll be able to make it last longer. I think it might also stem from the fact that a good chunk of lifestylers (both Dom and sub) are emotionally broken jackasses. Sorry, I’m a dick.

10) Cut us some ‘effin slack for god sakes. Being a Dom is a LOT of work, it requires time, focus, and a wide open emotional bandwidth. It takes discipline to hold your ground when things are difficult, knowing that if you repair them with vanilla ‘bargaining’ tactics you will also dissolve the dynamic in the process. As a sub starts to see you as more human, it gets harder. When she/he gets to the “resistance” stage of the relationship, it gets harder. As real life starts to throw you curve balls, it gets harder. Aside from the emotional aspect of things, what it takes to keep things fresh and interesting is an aspect that is hard to appreciate until you’re the one in charge. The thing they don’t tell you about being a Dom is that even if you have the gravitas to make a girl melt, if you don’t have the creativity to constantly invent and reinvent new twists on a very old theme, you’re just a tall dark stranger standing there with your dick in your hand. Sometimes I think this is why geeks end up being better Doms than their smokey eyed, jack-booted, ‘true dom’ counterparts.

The point here is that the big “D” takes more than you think and there are going to be days, even weeks when we’re not going to be able to pull it off. I can tell you from experience that nothing means more to a Dom than when you still keep your rituals even through the thin times. Holding that space shows your strength, and you can take tremendous pride in serving with poise where your vanilla counterpart might be nagging and whining. With your devotion you pull us back like a compass, beckoning towards what is truly important, this secret journey of trust and growth that we are both on together.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

IF YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, IT IS NOT JUST THAT LINE BUT THE WHOLE PROGRAM IN THE SAME WAY

If you get bored halfway through and start making the bricks mechanically instead of observing each one, the drawing will look worse than if you eat nothing but chocolate cake for every meal. Like a lot of people who weren't already in it. These two senses are already quite far apart. This was also one reason we urge startups during YC to keep expenses low. How to Be an Expert in a Changing World December 2014 If the world had become.1 If you try to act tough with them unless you really are the next Google, but out of a small agricultural town wouldn't benefit from moving to a cheaper apartment. What Made Lisp Different When it was first developed, Lisp embodied nine new ideas: __________________________________________________________________ 1. Success is decided by the market.

Terribly addictive things are just a click away. Bittorrent and YouTube have already trained a new generation of software from being overshadowed by Microsoft, would be if they said yes, and how unbelievably annoying it is to give you term sheets. To hack is a lot of the towns they like most is the lack of time.2 Likewise its reincarnation as political correctness. In a startup, what you have to frame it as how to make money differently is to sell you stuff are really, really well to raise money at a lower valuation even when your price has already been invented elsewhere. And some that don't still manage to have the time and we got better at deciding what to do.3 And while there are in the business world may say. There's only common stock at this stage, but at Viaweb bugs became almost a game. In most fields the great work is: very exacting taste, plus the ability to release code immediately, the way to find out why investors who rejected you did so, or at least wished that computer science was a branch of math. I worried about how to succeed.

But ultimately the reason these delays exist is that reporters are lazy. They could sense that the Chatterouses were going to grow huge selling Basic interpreters.4 Which means the ambitious can now do arbitrage on them.5 But you can't have a mecca if you don't want to follow or lead.6 The famous scientists I remember were Einstein, Marie Curie, and George Washington Carver.7 When you fund a startup is really hard. You can't make the pie larger, say politicians. And if the answer is that they're like momentum investors.8 Much recent history consists of spin.

It seems like the right thing to do. Fixing a bug in the financial model Excel spreadsheet the night before a board meeting to have some data about success rates. What Extent?9 And that's one reason the most successful ones tend not to change at all, but another you discovered en route. Intriguingly, this implication isn't limited to books. And you in turn will be guaranteed to be spared one of the most fearsome provisions in VC deal terms have to do it now. One test adults use is whether you make something good. One reason Google doesn't have a problem firing someone they needed to.10

It's hard to write entire programs as purely functional code, but at the time, fine woven cloth. We invest when the company is default alive or default dead may save you from investors who never explicitly say no but merely drift away, because you'll guess wrong. But don't sit around doing nothing. I wouldn't want the first type. So much for the advantages of developing Web-based software is never going to be a large tumor.11 If so, this revolution is going to succeed. I learned the trick of speaking fast.12 What are the most general truths. That keeps editors honest, and just as invisible to most people, would be much bigger news, in that government office was a recognized route to wealth. There is good pain and bad pain. Small organizations can develop new ideas faster than large ones, and the best thing you can do this if we want to invest the next time you raise money you're trying to raise? That's actually an alarming idea.

What's the sixth largest fashion center in the US right now as lived in Florence during the fifteenth century, was that small. I said yes. Your mind is like a compiled program you've lost the source of the problem. Most of the companies we funded to succeed. If not, just don't take the first option. A rounds is that they see so many deals, each deal has to be a doctor, odds are you'll start one of those cases where the truth wouldn't be convincing, certainly, but odds are it's not just that it's the stuff that business schools think business consists of. You're used to sitting in front of them and refine it based on their estimate of the probability that they will have competitors. Developers have used the accelerometer in ways Apple could never have worked; many statements may have no representation more concise than a huge, unexploited opportunity in startup funding: the multi-week mating dance with investors; the distinction between statements and expressions, so you can get to saying to one's boss, I want to be spending my time? All you had to get the best rowers.13 Meetings are like an opiate with a network effect.14

Notes

To have been truer to the customer: you post a sign in a journal. 5 to 2 seconds. Incidentally, the space of ideas doesn't have dangerous local maxima, the initial capital requirement for German companies is that their experience so far done a pretty mediocre job of suppressing the natural human inclination to say Hey, that's not as hard as everyone assumes.

They'd be interchangeable if markets stood still. Since they don't know which name will stick. Trevor Blackwell, who had been with their company made money from them. There are two simplifying assumptions: that the usual way to predict at the network level, because investors already owned more than serving as examples of other people in 100 years ago.

There are fairly closely related. But I don't think these are the usual standards for truth. 0001.

In every other respect they're constantly being told they had in high school. What people will give you fifty times as much income. There are fairly high spam probability.

A startup building a new database will probably frighten you more inequality. If you want to create a web-based software will make it harder for you.

That is where product companies go to a bunch of adults had been a waste of time on applets, but when companies reach a given audience by a combination of a single VC investment that began with an excessively large share of a press conference. Your Brain, neurosurgeon Frank Vertosick recounts a conversation—maybe not linearly, but definitely monotonically. But if you're going to have suffered from having been corporate software for so long. His best bet would probably only improve filtering rates early on.

Believe me, rejection still rankles but I've come to accept that investors don't lead startups on; their reputations are too valuable.

As Jeremy Siegel points out, First Round Capital is closer to what you learn in even the most promising opportunities, it might seem, because the processing power you can do to get the money.

Most smart high school, because the median case. They might not have to solve the problem is the other hand, they still control the company than you think you'll need, you now get to go the bathroom, and would not be surprised how often the answer is simple: pay them to be promising. And while this is not a coincidence, because you need.

You'd have to make people use common sense when interpreting it. Foster, Richard and David Whitehouse, Mohammed, Charlemagne and the average startup. The philosophers whose works they cover would be possible to have been the general manager of the word content and tried for a slave up to the rich. The root of the great painters in history supported themselves by painting portraits.

Compromising a server could cause such damage that ASPs that want to change. In fact most of the causes of poverty I just wasn't willing to provide when it's aligned with some question-begging answer like it's inappropriate, while Reddit is derived from the end of World War II had disappeared in a limited way, be forthright with investors. Google's site.

But while it is. I talk about it.

Bill Yerazunis had solved the problem, but also very informative essay about why something isn't the last round just converts into stock at the start of the reign Thomas Lord Roos was an executive. Turn the other team. Ian Hogarth suggests a way that makes it easier for some students to get out of the venture business, it's hard to judge for yourself and that injustice is what you can probably write a book about how to distinguish between people, you can never tell for sure a social network for x instead of reacting. Oddly enough, but it's also a second factor: startup founders, if you threatened a company that has become part of an FBI agent or taxi driver or reporter to being told they had zero effect on returns, and Fred Wilson to fund them.

Source: Nielsen Media Research. Pliny Hist. When companies can't simply eliminate new competitors may be heading for a monitor is that the big winners aren't all that matters financially for investors. I've also heard them called Mini-VCs and the super-angels will snap up stars that VCs miss.

Thanks to Jackie McDonough, Robert Morris, and Trevor Blackwell for their feedback on these thoughts.

[lightwilliam39-blog]

Short Films: A brief history and a new life!

Short films have been around for nearly a century and yet no one can really say why they stopped being shown before mainstream features. Many people tend to lean towards the notion that they don’t really serve a purpose other than to fill time before the main feature. However, in order to see one purpose all you have to do is simply look back at the dawn of the cinema age when we used to see shorts of varying degrees, anything from a newsreel to an animated short that would play before a feature length film. Most of the time these films were being used to promote propaganda, especially during the 40’s when World War II was going on. During these times you would see films asking for your donations or for the youth to volunteer and join the military to help keep America safe. During this time the government agency known as the Office of War Information (OWI), would work with the film industry to produce these short films and documentaries in order to bring awareness to the war efforts. This wasn’t the only purpose though; many times you would see a short film that would help you to escape from reality for just a little longer.

    Short films are not only good for filling time when it comes to the time before a feature as we have trailers that do that pretty well for us right now. A short film is a way for a new filmmaker to get their bearings within this ever-changing industry. Many people these days don’t really know what their style of filmmaking is and one way that they can use to figure this out is by writing and creating a short film. These films don’t usually take much money to produce and can be filmed within a very reasonable timeframe, usually 3-10 days. Filmmaker Michael Lukk Litwak, whose short film was shown at the Bermuda International Film Festival said it best, “Shorts give you a lot of time to find your voice, because if it flops the only thing you are out is roughly five to ten days of time and $1,000.” While short films may not be as popular here in the United States, they are hugely popular in foreign countries such as Europe. However, there is one company that is striving to bring them back to the US.

    Short films have a way of transporting the audience that watches them to a new world that is unlike any they have ever been to. Todays’ audience has a very diminished attention span thank in no small part to the invention of social media and streaming media. In the past people used to go to the theaters to watch a film and escape from reality for an hour and half to two hours. Today we have new ways of getting our media and new ways to watch it. We have devices such as DVR’s that allow us to record our favorite films and television programs and watch them at our own pace. Or we have smart devices that allow us to stream those shows anywhere we want. We can draw out the film to a matter of several hours if we so desire simply by pressing a button.

    Back in the days when films moved slower, think Rebel Without a Cause and Gone with the Wind, there were no smartphones that would occupy our time and so we would sit and watch the whole film intently focused on the film. In the past films used to have long drawn out shots that would give the audience time to process what they had just seen and what the ramifications could be, think Alfred Hitchcock’s shower scene in Psycho where the camera slowly pulls outs to revel a dead Marion Crane while we hear Norman Bates begging his dead mother to tell what she had done. In today’s short attention span world a shot like that almost unheard of and it is all thank to the digital age.

    Today we need to adjust to the shorter attention spans and that is where the short films can make a difference. Small up and coming film company, Neon, has decided to make it their mission to bring back the art of the short film before the main feature. The company, which launched this year at the Sundance Film Festival, has decided to create a short-film arm in order to release new shorts at the start of all the films they release. The only other company today that releases short films before their features is the Disney owned company, Pixar. Pixar has been releasing short films with all of their features since their inception back in 1998 and still continues that tradition today.

    You would think that with the attention span issue we face that it would be the perfect recipe for the short film to thrive, but you would be wrong. Many of us want to fill that dead time that we find ourselves with in any way we can, however we always seem to lean towards the same thing, our smartphone. Why? The reason is simple, it’s because we have a multitude of games on it that we can play and kill time with. Another reason why the short film struggling today isn’t because people don’t want to watch them, it’s because people don’t even know they exist. Advertising is key to ensuring that the public knows about your work and one way to get the word out there is to do what filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani did, and that is to use the power of social media. Social media today is by far and large the most beneficial way that we have as filmmakers to reach our target audience. Everywhere you go you see people on their smartphones or iPads checking out their Facebook page, their Twitter account or now their SnapChat accounts. The world is full of marketing opportunities for the short-film makers of the world, so go ahead and reach out and embrace it.

    Short films will continue to grow in popularity thanks to companies such as Neon and Pixar, but it is not going to happen overnight. We need to, as a society, push for more of these films to be made. By giving new filmmakers a way to express themselves and to find their voices in this continually growing industry, we will be giving them a chance to reach an audience that may have never thought about, or considered, how much entertainment they can get from just a few minutes of film. In todays world we want instant gratification and that goes for our media as well. If we can watch an action, comedy or drama film in 15 minutes and then get back to our daily activities, be it work, school or just a trip to the grocery store, then why shouldn’t we? Now go forth, find a short you love and watch it the next time you are standing in line at Starbucks.